Hey, I'm your Daughter
by thegirlwhosinlovewithapen
Summary: Tony Stark is a bad parent. Literally, he is. But once he got to meet a teenager that suddenly appeared on his doorstep and claimed him as her father, things get spirally out of control - in a MAJOR way. Does being Ironman help? R and R. Set after IRONMAN, IRONMAN 2 and the AVENGERS. Rated T for violence, abuse and mild language.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I do not own **IRONMAN**. All credits belong to **MARVEL COMICS** for creating this super-awesome hero. Image used for cover isn't mine as well.

**Summary: **Tony Stark is a bad parent. Literally, he is. But once he got to meet a teenager that suddenly appeared on his doorstep and claimed him as her father, things get spirally out of control - in a MAJOR way. Does being Ironman help? R and R. Set after IRONMAN, IRONMAN 2 and the AVENGERS. Rated T for violence, abuse and mild language.

**AN:**First Ironman fic and I'm pretty sure this won't be my last. Again, I appreciate it if you guys leave a review, follow or favorite this one. Though I can't promise you really fast updates though.

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Chapter ONE

"Ms. Potts, will you be so kind to order me a pizza?" Tony said nonchantly, adjusting the straps of his goggles.

Pepper Potts, who was talking to someone over the phone, frowned but then nodded and went away.

It was a hot afternoon that day and our billionaire hero was busy fixing something up inside his workroom. Although Tony Stark may seem too busy because of company work and hero job, believe me, he still can find time for some partying and relaxation. Which is, locking himself up inside a room full of tools and computers.

"Jarvis," he called to his super-smart, voice-controlled master computer "loosen up this wire for me. This is quite annoying."

_"Yes, Mr. Stark."_ The computer answered

And he added "And oh — check my voicemail. I'm actually waiting for someone to call."

_"Right away."_

It took a few seconds for another voice to rise up against the speakers. Stark paused as his new-ish lawyer, Robert Watts talked on the other line.

"Good afternoon Mr. Stark. I've got a bit of news — I don't know if it's good or bad but you need to call me. ASAP. Or else, you'll be in trouble."

Click.

Tony was bending over a piece of machinery but failed to pay attention. His mind was set on the unexpected message.

"That…wasn't the call I had in mind." He muttered "Are there any more?"

_"Apparently…none, sir."_

"None? Is that how antisocial I am?" Tony said to himself and smirked.

_"People are busy within this hour._"

"You're getting smarter by the day Jarvis. Now, keep quiet. I'm working."

And he focused his eyes back into the thing he's working on. But even though how many times he tried to calm his nerves, it wasn't working.

"Look's like somebody's in a tight situation." A voice behind him said.

Tony glanced back and mocked surprise "Hi there. How long have you've been back?"

"Quite a while now, actually." Pepper replied sarcastically

"You've heard?"

She nodded "Yep."

"All?"

"_All_ of it." And she sighed "Tell me, what have you done this time?"

"Who? Me? Jeez, I'm trying to behave since last week. Going to work, saving people's lives — just the typical 'nice-type' superhero everyone expects me do — especially you." Tony said, amused.

"Oh really? Let's just hope you did."

There was a loud 'thud' as Pepper slammed a newspaper on Tony's working desk.

"Hey!" he protested but then looked down.

**TONY STARK FOR HIRE? — **the headline said.

The newspaper just showed Tony hanging out with a group of hot chicks.

Tony gave the paper a cold look but then swallowed as he looked back at Pepper.

He shrugged "Never heard of it."

"Right." She replied hastily but then erupted again "What do you think you're doing? Going out with those girls? Trust me on this but Tony; I think they're after your money."

He didn't answer. Tony knew Pepper was upset not because of the risk of losing his company but because he was fishing girls again. Who can blame him? He's got the look, the money and the charisma? No one can deny that.

But still, Pepper was his girlfriend now. And he knew he can't lose her this time. She's different.

Sensing defeat, Tony let out a deep breath "Okay — fine. Yes, yes, you're right so…I'm sorry. Okay?"

She gave him a tight smile "Mr. Stark, I never knew you'd give in that easily."

"It's because I thought that was Robert's job to do the yelling." He replied

"You're quite right. But I still have responsibility over you."

"And that even makes it worse." he muttered under his breath.

"But I like the thought of you behaving. Never in my life would I recall you did that." Pepper said, laughing slightly.

Tony put a hand on his chest as if he's hurt "Ow. Ever since you've been under my tail — I've been always behaving."

She smiled. A real one this time.

He slipped a hand on his waist and led her outside the workroom.

"You know what? Let's just have lunch, okay? Man, I'm hungry. Where's my pizza?"

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_Ding-dong._

"Pepper?" Tony called through a muffled voice from his pillow.

There was no answer.

Realizing this, he slumped his head back on the pillow and tried to fall back to sleep.

Ignore the darn visitor.

_Ding-dong._

He groaned and covered his head with a pillow.

"Go away. Go away. Go away." He muttered

_"Sir, a guest is waiting by the door. Will you let her in?"_ Jarvis interrupted quietly. His computerized vocals faltering slightly.

"A _her_? Nah." He mumbled and closed his eyes. There was no time for a conversation. Tony was tired.

Maybe the guest was tired of ringing his doorbell, or maybe she went away. But whatever the reason is, the ringing stopped.

Smiling in victory, Stark let out a satisfied sigh.

Just then —

**_DING-DONG!_**

**_DING-DONG!_**

**_DING-DONG!_**

**_DING-DONG!_**

**_DING-DONG!_**

**_DING-DONG!_**

"Now she's done it!"

He kicked his blanket off, got up and strode towards the living room.

It was already 10 in the evening but here the famous Tony Stark is, fuming about visitors disturbing his sleep in the middle of the night.

But instead of heading to the door, he reached for a glass of water.

"Who is she?"

Jarvis answered _"According to my database and records sire I…do not know her. My systems do not recognize her visual patterns or her movements."_

Tony frowned and pointed a finger at nothing "You know what Jarvis? Thank you for your answer. Whatever — just send her in."

_"I think it would be advisable to open the door Mr. Stark. The visitor is quite…aggressive."_

"Computers don't think Jarvis — since when you did?" he said haughtily but headed towards the door "Now I'm crazy! I'm following a computer's instructions and I'm opening the door for a visitor — the reason why I am wide awake in the middle of the night because of her persistent knocking!"

Before his computer could respond, Tony swung the door open to see a teenage girl looking back at him.

"For goodness' sake!" Tony hissed "I don't need some Girl Scout knocking on my door to sell me cookies! Go away."

And very much like him, he shut the door infront of her face.

Or at least he did. The girl actually settled her foot against the wooden frame.

"Did you really think I'm a Girl Scout?" she replied, eyes burning in annoyance "Well certainly — I'm not. Firstly, I don't have an ID and second — I don't have any intentions of selling you cookies!"

Raising an eyebrow, Tony crossed his arms and said "Give me a good reason why you're waking me up in the middle of the night or else I'll be calling the security."

The girl tossed her hair "Allright. This may seem good enough…" she muttered to herself and then back at him "How about this — 'Hello Mister Tony Stark. Good evening. My name is Urania Stark — your daughter' — how does that sound?"

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**AN:** Please do review. Flames? Criticisms? Corrections? Suggestions? Feedbacks or personal opinions? Put them in your reviews and I'll be sure to read them :)


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter TWO

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_"How about this — 'Hello Mister Tony Stark. Good evening. My name is Urania Stark — your daughter' — how does that sound?"_

Tony Stark was standing on his front door, facing a teenage girl claiming that _he_ was _her_ father.

He grinned "Hello there…uh, what's your name? Ah yes, Urania — a lot of kids claim me to be their Daddy. Say, how do you differ from them?"

She smirked "Ha. Never thought I'm saying the truth? I'm expecting it."

"I'm sorry?"

"Actually _Mister Stark_." She emphasized his name "You really think I'm lying do you? Well, then, feast your eyes on this."

She rummaged on her backpack and brought out a large, heavy envelope.

As she did this, Tony studied her closely.

The kid was about 5'9 in height, had long dark hair with orange streaks that was flowing down her mid-back and piercing gray eyes that looked so stormy. She had lean, athletic built and was only wearing dark jeans, hiking boots, long-sleeved t-shirt and a backpack.

"What is all this?" he sputtered when she handed him the envelope.

"My birth certificate, bio, a few letters — proof, of course. Legal files — and when I say legal, I meant they _are_ legal." Urania answered skeptically, raising an eyebrow "You don't believe me so there!"

Tony just stared at her. This girl was unbelievable. It might take a lot of guts to say right infront of him that she was his daughter. Although that part might be just an act, still, he was quite impressed by her sudden confidence.

"Are you sure you're not just a fan?" Tony asked curiously

She threw her arms in disbelief "A fan? Oh man — I'm not some crazy ridiculous fan who stalks the guy who became more famous because of some stupid iron suit!"

"Jarvis, where's Pepper? Try calling her now." He ordered

_"Calling Ms. Pepper Potts…"_

Urania's eyes narrowed "Jarvis!" she barked, imitating Tony "Would you mind to tell Mr. Stark to let his guest in?"

Tony rolled his eyes. Nobody except Rhodes, Pepper and him can access JARVIS. How much can a mere girl interrupt the computer's interface?

_"Mr. Stark, it is advisable to let your guest in."_

Stark froze, dumbstruck.

The kid had actually ORDERED Jarvis to command him. To top it off, Jarvis, actually PERMITTED the girl to access him even though the computer never had a track of her record.

The girl smiled smugly.

"You know what? I've had enough. Go home — you've already messed up my computer."

And he was actually closed the door when—

"Wait!"

He growled, he actually did "What do you want? Money? Fame? Oh come on kid— I'm calling security—"

"Here."

And Urania gave him two pictures. One, quite wrinkled but the other one was new.

"That's you and my mom — got that? And the other one is ME and my mom." She explained "Now will you please let me in? I'm freezing!"

"It's not cold here in Malibu."

She shrugged "But I _feel_ cold."

Tony did not reply but instead, studied the pictures more carefully. The older one was indeed him with another woman who had straight jet black hair and gray eyes. Somehow, she seemed oddly familiar.

_Oh yeah — that's Amanda Wainwright._ Tony's mind thought.

And his eyes shifted to the other one.

It was the girl actually. When she was maybe six years old. Minus the orange streaks and beside Amanda, they looked very close.

And back to the girl herself.

That's when Tony realized they _do_ look alike.

That was when he shifted his gaze to the stranger, who was looking up at him with quizzical eyes. Indeed, in the very deep of his now cold, untouched heart, he could somehow feel some kind of connection with her. Although it was quite unbelievable, there really might be a chance that this girl can be his. The picture explained it. Tony can't deny the fact that he was that guy on it.

"Allright, come in. But we're not done here yet. Jarvis, did you call Pepper?"

_"Not yet sir. Should I?"_

"Of course." Then he opened the door a bit wider for the kid to go in.

And she did. But as soon as she'd done it, Urania immediately rocketed herself to his sofa.

"Finally…" she said exasperatedly and kicked off her muddy boots "my feet hurts like hell."

"Watch the floor, watch the floor! Don't you get it dirty!"

Suddenly, Pepper's voice came up around the house.

"Tony? I'm sorry if I left. Emergency." she asked

Tony breathed in as a sign of relief "Pepper. YOU. IN HERE. NOW. Emergency. Bring Robert. As well." And he shot the kid a weird look.

Urania shrugged "What? As if I've done something wrong."

"Oh, you really did girlie. And now, if you're ever darn wrong, you're gonna pay."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter THREE

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"Okay, here's the thing. We. Talk. Calmly. Just like what responsible adults do." Tony explained to the flashing-eyed, somewhat cunning, so-called daughter of his.

Urania stared at him "I am calm. And I believe this kind of talk is somewhat new to you. You've never been responsible, I think."

"Oh, Urania, please cooperate." Pepper said, giving her an assured smile.

It was nearly midnight and here they all are, sitting on Tony's living room couch. He and Urania were facing each other while Pepper and Robert sat in opposite directions as well.

Urania set a cool glance at Tony and said "I will if he does."

"I already am. Aren't I doing the explaining?" Tony replied, yawning.

"If that's the case then I—"

"Oh you two are giving me headaches!" Robert cut in "Just keep quiet so we'll finish early and go to bed. Mr. Stark and Ms. Stark—"

"Ha, Ms. Stark." Tony said loudly

Urania shot him a deadly look. Her steely gray eyes were menacing but she said nothing.

"As I was saying," Robert continued on "Talk. Allright? Ask a question — she answers. Ask a question — he answers. Got it?"

They both barely nodded. They were too busy having a staring contest but then Tony gave in and asked the first question.

"Let's get to the top — what's your name?"

She sighed "For the nth time, my name is Maria Urania March Wainwright Stark."

"Age?"

"Fifteen. I was born on March 28."

"Mother?"

"My mother is Amanda Wainwright — a nuclear physicist of Mishima Innovations but then at the Stark Industries as well. She was one of the people behind the proposed trans-uranium powered warheads."

"Father?"

"My mother said that my father _was_ Tony Stark. They actually met…hmm…" then she began counting through ticking off her fingers "fourteen…fifteen…ah, seventeen years ago. During the IUPAC World Conference in Dubai."

"Ah…" Robert commented, throwing looks at Tony.

He ignored what his lawyer was giving him but then asked another question.

"School?" Tony asked.

"I don't go to school." Urania replied bluntly

"Why not?"

"Cliques, clubs, exams, teachers — no thanks."

"So," Pepper spoke up "Ever since you've been born, you never went to school?"

Urania settled comfortably on Tony's couch "Ever since I was four. The day my mom died. The day I was brought to St. Mary's, I hated school."

"That's quite a shame, really. See here Urania — based on tests St. Mary orphanage has given you, you've got high IQ level. Very high, I might add." Robert announced, ransacking the papers she had given to Tony.

For a while, she did not reply.

Everybody was staring at her. Tony, with his utter I-don't-care-face. Pepper, with her assuring smile. And Robert, who was watching her expectantly, waiting for an answer.

Urania took a shaky breath and said slowly "My mom had said that, why my brain levels are abnormal is because, I've been exposed to radiation when I was very young. But it can also be because my male parent is the very one who graduated at MIT when he was the same age as me."

The three adults all locked stares with each other.

"Urania," Pepper began to speak again after a few minutes "can you tell us how did you got here? St. Mary's based on Ohio and right now, you're in California. They also reported that a child has been gone missing last night. Was that you?"

The girl nodded "I've got money. And since I was there for eleven years, I exactly knew where my documents are placed. You see, I was about to be adopted by some 30 year-old Mexican couple and they wanted me to go along with them for their around-the-world tour. Yesterday, at dawn, I sneaked out of my room, stole the documents, booked a flight, used the passport the couple gave me and whoosh! Here I am."

"Um… kid, please excuse us for just one moment. Adult talk." Robert reasoned and grabbed Stark and Pepper then ushered them out of earshot.

"What do you think?" He asked at them

"I think — she's telling the truth." Pepper responded

Tony, who was unable to speak earlier just shrugged. His mind was obviously in shambles.

"I agree," said Robert "Mr. Stark, look." He glanced at Urania back at the living room "All the files she had, it's all legal. All are correct and in order. But I disapprove of the idea of her running away from the orphanage. We can't also deny the fact that you two _do_ look alike."

Pepper put an arm on Tony.

He shook his head "Whew. Never thought I had a daughter." And loudly, he said "Jarvis, have you recorded our discussion a while ago?"

_"Yes, Mr. Stark."_

"Examine the girl's breathing patterns — check if it's stable. If her pupils are dilating or whatever. Just try to be a lie detector." He ordered

"But Tony—" Pepper tried to say

He raised a hand to stop her "Not now. Somehow, I really can't absorb the fact that _I_ am going to be a father." Then he groaned "Why should it be the teenage years?"

She gave a laugh.

_"Mr. Stark, I have scanned the guest's vital progress and it seems she is telling the truth. Her heartbeat did not quicken. Neither her pupils dilate nor her breathing accelerated."_ Jarvis announced

Tony pursed his lips and ran a hand through his hair. For him, it was either good or bad.

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Urania sighed, reached a hand in front of her face and slapped herself.

She was tired. Physically exhausted and mentally ill.

Tony Stark was still unconvinced that she was his daughter.

"Let's just wait for the blood test tomorrow as well as our DNA sample." Tony told her "And when all is well, that's the time I'm going to call you my daughter." And he laughed "You know what? You're the first ever fan to be inside my home."

"But I am not your fan!" she hissed

_Ha, Father._ she thought fuzzily.

They really had done a blood test and a DNA testing inside her biological father's lab. Although Urania was sure that they were a match, Tony was still unmovable. He wants living proof.

Tonight, she was spending the night in one of the house's grand rooms. But she got up to drink a glass of water. As she did so, she overheard Pepper and Tony talking. Sensing the fact that it might be important, she ducked and hid behind the back of the sofa but threw quick, unnoticed glances to see what they were doing. Spying was one of her specialties.

"…I know it's difficult to trust someone who you don't even know but Tony, can't you at least consider that Urania might be yours?"

"Pepper, as my girlfriend, I can't believe you're so into this." Tony's voice rang as he shook his head in disbelief.

She gave him a sly smile "I'm doing what's best for you, since you don't."

"You just sound like some mother on TV." He replied but then sighed after a while "I can't believe this is happening to me. A hero has a child."

"Then, be a hero to your child. Don't you just have that feeling parents have whenever they interact with their children?"

"I do. I feel annoyed whenever that kid's around."

"I can't believe you'd be so blind Tony. You two are just a match you know. It's like Urania is a tiny replica of you. It's quite fun to sit back and watch you two argue."

"Pepper, if you're trying to convince me if that girl really is my daughter — you're doing a good job but I'm not that convinced." Tony replied "After the blood work and the DNA test."

"After the blood work and the DNA test." Pepper repeated

Then, they gave each other a hug. Urania had to clap a hand over her mouth not to laugh. Ugh, adult lovey-dovey is too cheesy.

"I'll be back tomorrow. Be good." Pepper said and gave him a peck on the cheek

"Already on that."

"Try not to do anything stupid."

"Anything but that."

She gave him a look which made him raise his hands in surrender.

"Okay, okay. Jeez." Tony said, rolling his eyes.

She gave him a wave, collected her coat and disappeared.

_Where did that Robert go? Maybe he went home._ Urania thought.

As Tony fished out his phone and talked to someone on the other line, she took the opportunity to take a good look at him.

His dark hair was scattered untidily on his head but he never showed he cared. His brown eyes were tired and had dark circles under it.

"I look nothing like him at all!" she whispered to herself

Which was a bad idea. Jarvis' alarms rang like a mad computer.

Tony looked around in curiosity, not at all panicked that there may be someone invading his house.

"Jarvis, is someone here?" he asked

There was a pause. Urania didn't dare to breathe.

_"Yes sir."_

_Jarvis,_ she thought, _I am so gonna kill you._

Then she could feel her father walk around. Slowly, she began to crawl away.

"What are you doing in there?"

She shrieked in surprise but then quickly recovered, trying not to look too guilty "Oh — just sitting. As you can see."

"You were eavesdropping."

"Oh? You've realized it just now?" Urania shot back, raising an eyebrow "Turns out you don't have superhuman senses after all. You should've noticed me before them. Just the brain."

"I'd really thought hanging out with kids can make someone younger. It was the other way around." Tony told her "It's nearly dawn. Kids need some sleep."

"I'll sleep whenever I want to."

Tony smirked "Then don't blame me if Jarvis rings the alarm at seven."

Urania did not reply. She stood up to her full height, held her head very high, settled her hands on her hips and eyed him like a cat.

"I have one question for you Mr. Stark." She announced

But Tony turned his back to her and waved a hand to dismiss it "Nah. I'm tired."

"Unfair! You've asked me a lot the last hour!"

"You should be thankful that the one and only Tony Stark made the interview."

And he was starting to walk away.

In order not to miss the opportunity, she began to ask.

"Do you really want me to be your daughter? That's answerable by plain yes or no." Urania blurted out

He stopped dead in his tracks. But he didn't face her.

"You know what Urania? Let's save it for later. Go to bed."

And he was gone. Just like that.

Urania watched him go in absolute disgust.

"He's really a shell head. Isn't he Jarvis?" She muttered under her breath and stomped away like an angry bull.


	4. Chapter 4

**NA:** On this part, Tony Stark's blood type is based on **Marvel** **Ironman Comics issue 1 number 243**. Internet is not much of a reliable source when it comes to truth.

Chapter FOUR

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"Urania? Urania…"

"Go away…"

"Come on Urania, you have to wake up."

"…"

"Yuuuraayniaaaa…"

"SHUT THE HELL UP! OKAY?" Urania screeched and sat up.

That surprised the brains out of Pepper, who was trying to wake her up.

"Oops— I'm sorry! I thought you were one of those annoying kids back at the orphanage." Urania said quickly, face flushing in embarrassment.

Pepper tried to shake the morning surprise away "No, I understand. I was about to say that you need to get dressed, the results are ready."

"Where is he?" Urania asked, peering over her shoulder.

Meaning: where the heck is Tony?

"Down at the lab."

"Oh."

With that, Urania got up and settled herself. Ignoring the quickening heartbeat as the result's announcing is only a few minutes away.

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Tony Stark was anxious.

He kept pacing around his workroom, not knowing what to do. In a few minutes, Robert, Pepper and Urania will be arriving down here to witness Jarvis' announcement of the results.

This was not him. He rarely gets nervous. Maybe the reason why is because of the truth Urania's eyes expresses whenever she says something about him and her.

They were all too serious.

For Tony, these things happen too sudden.

Just then, he heard footsteps and saw the three are already approaching.

Pepper put in the pass code and the door slid open.

Urania's eyes were still stormy gray than ever. It was just now that Tony realized that she's quite pretty for a kid.

"So, here we all are." Robert said

"Here we all are." Pepper repeated, nodding "The results are now ready. Tony, how are you feeling?"

"Preoccupied. Bored. Tired. Etcetera, etcetera." Tony answered, trying to ease the building pressure.

"Urania?"

"Call me Nia. That makes things easier." The girl answered, crossing her arms.

"Allright, Nia." Robert agreed, clamped a hand on her shoulder "We agreed. If the results are a match, it's up for Tony if he's taking full custody of you or not. If it doesn't, we'll bring you back to the orphanage and act as if nothing happened. Okay?"

"Yeah." Nia answered, swallowing.

Tony rolled his brown eyes and said to Jarvis "Jarvis, I want you to announce the blood work first. How did that go?"

_"Mr. Stark, your blood type is Type A+. The guest's blood type is type AB+. Her mother's blood system is registered on Type B. Therefore, you two are a match."_

Tony exhaled loudly and threw a sideway glance at Urania. Who was a bit pale but still looked uninterested.

"DNA?"

_"You two are still a match. 100%. You are the biological father, sir."_

And there was cheering and clapping. Tony felt as if there was a huge weight removed from his shoulders and was replaced by pangs of worry. Can he handle the responsibility of being a father to a supremely clever, obviously stoic and mysterious teenager?

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"I'm going to a party tonight and you — are gonna come with me." Tony announced at Nia.

Her cool gray eyes narrowed "Can't it be just Pepper?"

"She's gonna come but I want you too. Let me see if you'd inherited my social skills." He joked.

"No. Way." Nia fumed, her brows furrowed.

"Don't be stupid. It's fun to party."

"I don't find parties _fun_. They're annoying. I hate crowds. All people do in there is talk, compare each other and in the end, you end up in someone's apartment and lose a lot of stamina by the day."

Tony snorted "You're too smart — that's the problem."

She ignored the comment "I'm expecting a guest."

"Nia, you can't invite someone over my own house."

"He'll arrive in about…now?"

The next thing Tony knew, there was a lot of noise and a bark. He then was thrown down the floor by some four-legged creature.

"He's great isn't he?" Nia said with a smile plastered on her face "I found him on the streets last night and we hit off instantly. He's about a crossbred of a husky and…honestly, I don't know the rest."

"Just — bleargh! Get this dog off me!"

She whistled and Tony could feel the weight leaving him away. As he got up, it was then he noticed that it was great big black dog. With heavy fur, pointy ears and cool blue eyes.

"Disgusting." He said irritably, trying to wipe off the dog drool on his clothes "I hate pets."

"Maybe that's the reason why I easily got inside your house last night. You lack security." She noted, patting the dog gently "Computers fail sometimes. Even though you own a suit of carbonized metal alloy, someone can still kill you while you're in bed. Silently."

"Hey! Just look at how it — Oh man," Tony groaned, pointing on the floor as the dog peed "That's it — I want that dog out of my house! Now!"

"No!" Nia yelled as Tony tried to grab it by its collar.

Then he felt a sudden pain and heard the dog yelp. It was as if his body was on fire. Burning and burning. He dropped landed on the floor on all fours.

But the pain ebbed away, replaced by tingling and tiny shivers around his body.

Nia's eyes widened in surprise "Dad!"

He tried to get up but his knees were shaking. He could smell something burning.

Great, his hair was singed. But only little.

"Mr. Stark — are you allright?" she said and helped him get up.

"I'm fine." He managed to say "Just tell the world to stop spinning." Tony shook his head and stretched "What the heck happened?"

"Carbon's collar." Nia explained "I kind of improvised it because I thought that if he's all alone, then he might get into the pound. So I made it more electrifying."

"Electrifying…You did a good job. It hurts like hell. But still, I want that dog outside."

"But…"

"No buts Nia."

Then Urania's usual cool, steely gray eyes suddenly changed into big, adorable and resembled a poor puppy.

"Mr. Stark please! I want him! Can I? I'll clean-up the mess he made! I'll even remove the collar if you want to. Just please, please, please! Carbon should stay here with me."

Tony laughed. A great, loud one, I mean.

"Uh…did I miss something?" Urania asked him, poker faced.

"N-nothing," Tony replied, trying to get a grip "I just can't believe a dog can make you act like that. What was his name again?"

"Carbon."  
He rolled his eyes "You suck at giving names."

"Oh yeah? As if you were the one who named IronMan."

"I have a condition for you." Tony said, heading to his room "I'll let the dog stay _if_ you go to the party."

This time, Urania's eyes went back to being stormy again as she glared at him.

"You think you're so smart, do you?" she said, brows furrowing

"Choose."

"This is too—"

"Choose."

"You are so—"

"Choose."

"Argh!"

Tony chuckled as he saw his daughter having a difficult time.

Finally, she heaved a sigh.

"So?"

She glared at him "So what?"

"Am I gonna kick the dog or what?" he asked skeptically

`"Fine! Fine. I'm going to go, okay? I'll go to that stupid party."

He smiled "Jarvis, call Pepper. We've got a party to attend to."

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**AN:** I know it was all bark but no bite. Ironman action starts from here! Let the party begin!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter FIVE

"I can't believe I'm doing this." Urania said with a loud sigh as she, Pepper, Tony's driver — Happy and an image stylist named Tina walked along the streets of a shopping center.

"Relax Nia, it's just a party." Pepper said, giving her a smile.

She looked up to meet her genuine blue eyes. Pepper was tall, had straight strawberry-blond hair and gentle eyes. On her part, Nia was surprised how Pepper could handle her father so well. They were directly different from each other. And opposites do attract.

"That only makes it worse. I can imagine the press, the people…will Tony tell them that I'm his daughter?"

Pepper pursed her lips but then answered "I think he would. And he should. Your father's quite hyper when it comes to parties that's why we're going there to put a hook in him."

"You really can handle him, huh?"

"I've been working for him for years Urania. I was both his secretary and personal assistant. I can't deny that Tony is a very carefree man."

"Carefree is a mild way of putting it. Careless would be better."

"Ms. Stark, how about in here? Tina likes this." Happy interrupted, grinning at both Nia and the image stylist.

Nia rolled her eyes at the thought of Happy having flings with the hired fashion designer.

"Happy," Urania said to him "Call me Nia. It's better that way. Calling me a Stark is too showy."

"Allright then. Let's go in."

_Let that dumb shopping begin._ Nia thought grumpily

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"Oh Nia, that looks really great on you!" Happy exclaimed

Nia frowned and put her hands on her hips "You've actually said that to me about fifteen times, Happy."

Tina studied her closely "Hmm…I like the way the dress fits her. But…" her voice trailed off

"But?" Nia repeated and threw her arms in disgust "I'm tired! Can't we take a break? This is the 21st outfit I've tried! Can't we just grab a dress?"

"This is the time your Dad announces to the whole world that you're his daughter, it really should be special Nia." Pepper said thoroughly

"People can wear anything to a party," she said grumpily "So; can I just wear my jeans?"

"Unless you don't want to look like someone who just came from the outlands." Tina added and suddenly grabbed a piece of clothing from the rack "How about this?"

She crossed her arms "They all looked the same to me."

Tina turned to Pepper "Ms. Potts, she's the most stubborn girl I've ever handled. No girl can resist fashionable clothes."

"But I'm not that girl. Clothes are not a priority to me." Nia insisted.

"But for your Dad's image, it is."

She groaned "Aww man."

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Nia was reading a book while her father's Rolls Royce was making its way to the lavish venue.

"Okay, why don't we take this opportunity to know each other better?" Tony suggested, looking eager.

Nia's stone-like eyes flitted up "Uh…why do I suddenly sense you're up to something Mr. Stark?"

"Don't think about me like that. Of course, you're my daughter aren't 'ya? It's time for some family bonding."

"Ha, family bonding." She repeated, rolling her eyes but still looked uneasy "Allright. I'll play along."

Tony forced himself not to grin. Urania was nervous, as far as he can see it. She kept taking deep breaths and looked quite sick.

"Are you allright Nia?" Pepper asked with a tone of concern

She gave her a smile "I'm fine." And to her father "You ask first."

"Okaaay. Let's start with…hobby."

"Hobby? You're so immature."

"Says the kid."

"Shut up old man."

He dismissed the joke with an impatient wave of his hand "Come on. Answer."

"Can't you—"

"Answer."

"Won't you—"

"Answer."

"This is—"

"Answer."

"Allright! Fine! Let me think…Okay. My hobbies are reading. Sleeping. Eating."

Tony looked at her in disbelief "What? Those are the same activities all of us do—"

"Who cares? I love doing them." Nia answered

"Can't you be like me? I invent. I create. That makes me great…" he said in a singsong voice.

Both Pepper and Nia scoffed.

"You suck at singing." Nia grumbled but then added "I don't create. I'd rather improve something. I love mechanics. When I was young, I wanna be a race car driver because I used to help the car repair shop beside the orphanage back then. I think those who drive cool cars are awesome."

"I did, didn't you know?"

"Except you."

"Ouch." He replied, feigning hurt but then changed the subject "Wait — so you like…cars?"

"Got a problem with that?" Nia said defensively

"Me? Nah." He said with a shrug "It's just too unfeminine of you."

Secretly, Tony was bracing himself for any clever comebacks his daughter might think of. He never knew what was running on her mind. So it's better to be prepared.

But instead, she just gave him a wolfish grin.

"Yeah." She agreed dryly "Really surprising to know that your only daughter would love to trade her pretty ribbons and dresses for oil and a wrench. It's a shame, I might add."

"No…I think it's kinda cool. Not all girls your age want that kind of stuff. I salute you for that." Tony said warmly, making her pale cheeks red with blood for the first time.

"Really?"

"Kind of. Don't get it through you head or else your ego might inflate."

She puffed up some air and glowered at him. He laughed and lit up a cigarette.

To Tony's surprise, Urania snatched it from him, hot-front first and chucked it out of the window.

"Hey!" he demanded.

"Ms. Potts," Nia said to Pepper, who was not paying attention "If Mr. Stark smokes, make him stop. It's as if you're doing second-hand smoking if you just let him do that. I don't wanna die early."

Baffled, Pepper nodded and threw Tony a confused look.

"You just threw my—" he sputtered "—out of the…"

"Yes. I did." Nia agreed smugly

"You're unbelievable…unbelievable…" he muttered, running a hand through his dark hair.

"I know."

"Let's get back to the Q and A. Hmm…Why did you put that orange stuff in you hair?" Tony asked, eyeing her ringlets.

Nia stared at him; poker faced "Do I really have to answer?"

"Yep."

She fingered her orange streaks "My hair is a sign of teenage rebellion. We live young. We live wild. We live free. But that exempts you adults so Tony, no funny business allright?"

"You make me sound like I'm so old."

"Maybe, maybe not." She answered "I'm just saying that you're not a teenager anymore. So quit acting like one. Don't tell me that Pepper might always baby-sit you behind just to change your diapers."

Instead of getting angry, having violent reactions about Nia's serious blabber, Tony just gave her a wicked grin. A lot of people had said that. He was a carefree billionaire — the only one people had known on this world.

"Just to make your discussion short — you want me to change? As in that I'm-too-old-so-I'm-boring type of guy? A real father?" he asked, amused at the fancy talk.

His daughter flashed him a dazzling smile — the kind of smile that made Tony a captive of her mother.

"You know what Tony? Being a Stark means living young. So stay the way you are. Dads like you can't be cooler than that. Just stay awesome." Urania said

He squeezed her shoulder in appreciation "You know what kid? You're right. Pretty darn right."

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"Nia, honey, you address Tony as 'Dad' not 'Mr. Stark' or 'Tony'. He is your father after all." Pepper reminded her as the luxurious limo was stopping into a halt infront of a great big building filled with a hundred people.

"Wait — are you allright? You look sick dear." Tony said, smiling slyly.

Urania was a bit green though. And she kept swallowing as if she's about to puke.

"I'm fine." She insisted, looking at him fiercely

"Okaaay." And he opened the car door, stepped outside and she could see him wave.

Pepper followed shortly and then Nia.

The first thing she saw were the dazzling flashes of two dozen light bulbs.

"Nice smile." Tony reminded in her ear and she obeyed "Thatta girl."

But the smile on Urania's face wasn't meant. She hated this at first thought. It was even worse on first sight. She wanted to go home.

People were everywhere and the whole crowd was roaring. The only thing that set apart fans, reporters and photographers from Nia, Pepper and Tony were the event security. Somehow, Nia would like to lend them the iron suit.

**"MR. STARK! LOOK OVER HERE!"**

**"YOU LOOK DASHING MR. STARK!"**

**"MR. STARK, SMILE!"**

**"TAKE A PICTURE WITH MS. PEPPER!"**

**"NOW, YOU ALONE!"**

The attention wasn't only focused on Urania's father but to her as well.

**"WHO'S THAT GIRL MR. STARK?"**

**"MAY WE ASK YOU THREE FOR AN INTERVIEW?"**

**"IS THAT YOUR CHICK SIR?"**

**"HEY PRETTY, SMILE FOR THE CAMERAS!"**

**"AREN'T YOU A CUTE FAMILY?"**

The red carpet was long and the line was slow. As every minute pass, Nia's irritation is nearly reaching the danger levels.

Just as Tony nearly reached the end since he was leading the way, the dreaded moment came. He actually stopped by to answer a few questions.

"Good evening Mr. Stark, may we ask you for an interview?" a tanned blonde reporter asked

"Anything for you, Ms. Everheart." He replied along with a charismatic smile.

At the sound of the name and sight of the face, Urania's blood boiled. This was Christine Everheart — a reporter. The very Christine who had a one-night stand with her freaking father two years ago. Her gray eyes suddenly slanted in dangerous slits, almost like a cat as she eyed the reporter with secret distaste.

How did she know? She's an excellent stalker.

Nia bravely glanced back to see what was happening. There were a long line of fabulous cars and a few sets of newly arrived celebrities. But almost all of the people's attention was at them.

"I can see that you're with your very beautiful girlfriend Ms. Pepper…" she addressed

_Oh that whore_, Nia thought, gazing intently at her, _she's faking that stupid smile._

Beyond the corner of her eye, Urania can also spot Pepper stiffen but smiled politely at the mention of her name. She was sure they've met.

"…forgive me for asking but who's this young girl you're with?"

Tony turned to wrap an arm around Nia and dragged her closer to him "She, as you can see Christine, is Urania Stark. My daughter."

And the world gasped in surprise.

**"WHAT?"**

**"WHAT DID HE JUST SAY?"**

**"HIS DAUGHTER?"**

**"A FEMALE STARK?"**

People were staring at both of them, wide-eyed.

Even Everheart, had been carried away.

"…did we just hear that correctly Mr. Stark? Your daughter?"

"Yes." Tony replied mildly, obviously enjoying the moment "She really is my daughter. No, my biological daughter. Can't you just see the resemblance? Although not all people would've believed that she really is, I've got no comment on that."

That was when the crowd got free of the shock and began to head towards them wildly. Nia felt her father's tightened grip on her shoulder and dragged her and Pepper away gently before they would get drowned in the sea of people.

Everheart was trying very hard to catch up amongst the bodies around her "Wait — um, Ms. Stark, what can you say about being the daughter of the famed Tony Stark?"

"I don't see my father as Tony Stark but as Ironman. He's a hero to me. Don't get me wrong." Was all she said.

And with a last smile, all three of them entered the room and the glass doors shut behind them.

And the staff ushered them with everything. Drinks, snacks, anything to make them comfortable. Tony reached for a glass of martini.

"That was the worst." Nia said, dropped her smile and sighed.

She threw a glance behind her to see the press still thumping around the glass doors to get a look on them.

On the other hand, Tony tapped her back "Hey, I heard about what you said."

"What?" said Nia in disbelief "Amidst the noise?"

"Yep. That was really smart of you to think of that answer. Maybe you're really born for Hollywood."

"You're wrong. I wasn't born for anything like this." She replied coldly, grabbed a sushi from one of the waiters and walked away.

Tony was taken aback. What was the matter with her? He and Pepper stared at each other.

"Will she be fine?"

"She just needs some time to cool off. Getting mobbed by a crowd is very disturbing." Pepper replied

He took a sip of his drink "I'll bet my car that she's going to get lost. That girl has no sense of direction."

"Says her father." Pepper added sarcastically.

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Nia took a deep breath and said to herself "I am lost."

It took a lot of confidence to say that out loud. Urania was never lost. Everytime, she knew what she was doing.

Her eyes drifted around.

The venue was near the beach, just like her new home back at Malibu, overlooking the bay. People in fancy dresses and elegant tuxedos were taking a lovely stroll. From one point, Nia could even see a couple making out. Jeez, this place gives her the creeps.

The thought of many people suddenly brought out the problem of finding Pepper, Tony or even Happy. How could she find them with this entire crowd? Nia don't even own a phone, for crying out loud. A pager? Definitely not.

In frustration, she kicked a rock and hit the top of a nearby oak tree.

"OW!"

She looked up at the target in surprise. Nia's stance was poised for alert as the leaves rustled. This could be anybody. Who was might be that person? A spy? A kidnapper? A rapist?

Um…Nia's thoughts are just too crazy. Let me remind you.

With a snap of a branch, a boy in a silver suit appeared but managed to get a perfect landing.

He rubbed his arm, fussing over his sleeve as Nia stared at him. But then, he spotted her.

He was about her age, had dark hair that scattered untidily on his head, tall and had eyes the riveting color of the sea. He was like a god of beauty. No freckles, no zits, not even a trace of pimple or acne. The way he's holding himself…it was as if he's ready to take on everything that comes his way.

Nia raised her eyebrow. Looks aren't _that_ important. Who knows? This guy must have brains the size of a pea.

"Were you the one who hit me?" he asked, frowning.

"It was an accident." Nia shot back "Never knew you were up there. Only monkeys lives in trees you know."

Suddenly, Nia was having the feeling that this guy hated her right on the spot. She did too. Her emotions were all mixed up — nervousness, annoyance, fatigue.

"This party is stupid. So are the people in it." The boy said coldly and began to walk away.

Who's the parent of this kid? Some arrogant celebrity?

"Wait!" Nia blurted out, unable to stop herself.

He turned but cast her an icy look "What is it this time? Ready to throw boulders at me?"

Ugh. The nerve.

_I shouldn't have asked._

"Have you seen Tony Stark?"

"Why?"

Nia's nerve popped in annoyance. She hated people who ask you back before answering your question.

She waved her hand in dismissal "Oh — nevermind. I thought simians know how to give a straight answer."

The boy walked towards her. They were now merely a step away from each other.

His blue-green eyes blazed "You'll get in trouble with that mouth of yours." He leaned in, faces inches apart and whispered "Who knows? Maybe something's gonna fly and swoop you down because you're a pain in the neck."

"What the heck are you talking about?" Nia almost yelled

"There you are baby."

Tony's voice interrupted the brewing battle. Urania felt her father's hand on her shoulder. But when Tony spotted what the two teenagers were doing, ha gave her daughter a grin.

"Am I interrupting something?" he said mildly, eyeing her daughter and the boy "Oh — that's a good sign Nia. You're socializing. I'd nearly thought you were a tomboy."

"Dad," Nia hissed through gritted teeth "We're not socializing."

"Oh."

And without even a final word or look at the stranger, Nia grabbed her father's hand and went away, dragging him with her.

"What do you think you're doing?" Nia accused

Tony looked at her "My bad. Never thought you were having a fight with your boyfriend."

"But he's not my boyfriend! I don't even know him!"

"Too bad. He's good looking." He mused

"So what? Are you like, bi or lesbian or something?"

"Tss. Nevermind. No more convos? Come, daughter of mine, a lot of people want to come and meet you." Tony said nonchantly, reaching for her hand and lead the way like a good 'father' would've done.

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Nia heaved a sigh. She managed to slip past Tony and Pepper while they were heading back to the car. For what? No reasons. There are times she wanted to be left alone.

She was sitting by the bay walk's handrails. Her feet hurt because of this darn heels.

Several hours ago, Urania met a lot of famous people. Celebrities like George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Robert Redford, Carrie Fischer and Tom Cruise. You know the usual. Good thing she wasn't obsessed with movies or else she would've ended up stuttering. A few athletes like David Beckham and Maria Sharapova. And countless doctors, politicians and rich people. It looked like her father would've wanted the whole 'rich-y' clique to know her.

She checked the time. It was twenty-four minutes before ten o'clock. Tony wanted to leave early so he could go home and sleep. Not to mention he spent restless hours on the casino, gambling his money away.

Just then —

**BOOM!**

An explosion that almost threw her away from her seat had occurred. It was as if a giant had swung a hammer into Earth.

Another flash of light followed. So bright that Nia squeezed her eyes shut to prevent her cornea from burning. It was so bright that it almost could illuminate whole America. Her arms were suddenly sweating from the heat. Nia had to hang on the handrails to steady herself as the impact caused a tremor below.

Few seconds later, she slowly opened her eyes, revealing a wrecked environment. She quickly glanced behind her, the waves were thrashing a little harder now. This was not good.

Her head then snapped back to the place infront of her. A thick black smoke began to curl upward, releasing fumes. There were cuts on her bare arms and even cheek, as the car's glass went flying away earlier. The vehicles were damaged badly. Trees stood limp. Roads a wreck. People running away, screaming. The place was in chaos.

There was no denying it. The whole place was bombed.

Kicking off her heels, Nia made a run back inside the building even though it was on the verge of collapsing. People might be in there. She gotta save them. She barely survived even though she was 300 meters away from the scene, how much more if you're sitting beside the disguised bomb?

She was nearly reaching the entrance but then—

**BOOM!**

"DAAAAAAAAD!" Nia screamed

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**AN:** Forgive me for writing such a boring action scene. I'm still starting. (Though that's my personal opinion.) Oh, and remember the stranger guy Nia talked to, he'll be quite important. I've decided to add a twist of romance for Stark's daughter, how would she react toward the opposite gender? Oh— it'll be just a small part, I think. Stay tuned and please review!


	6. Chapter 6

**AN:** On this part let me just state:

This book is entirely **FICTIONAL.** Any references to historical events, real people, real locales or real items are used **FICTITOUSLY.**

So, all these chemicals and machines I'm further stating **ISN'T REAL**, okay? Don't make the author study chemistry and engineering to create a more accurate and precise portraying. Although I'll take chemical engineering in the future, I'm not in college yet. Thank you for reading.

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Chapter SIX

Tony opened his eyes and looked up.

He was thrown thirty feet away from the venue. As he got up, he could see that everything was ruined.

"Pepper!" Tony called out amongst the ruins.

"Tony, I'm here." She said and looked at him gravely "But-but…Nia's gone."

"WHAT?"

"Happy and I were looking for her but it seemed we've lost her…"

But Tony wasn't listening anymore. His heart was doing its maximum beating rates. He was nervous. Which never happened before.

Without even thinking, he pulled his sleeve away and pressed his glowing wristlet — an action that summons the latest Mark suit.

_"Sir, the Mark VIII will arrive in about twenty seconds."_

"Jarvis, locate my daughter."

_"With apologies sir but I cannot. She does not happen to have any device that can be tracked."_

"Damn it!" he cursed. He should have given his daughter a tracking device before coming into this party.

He then turned his attention to Pepper "You two, stay in the car and drive to someplace safe. I'll find Nia. Allright Pepper?"

She nodded "Be safe."

"Then go!"

And they ran towards their vehicle, which remained untouched by the massive blow. After a moment, another deafening impact was heard.

"DAAAAAAAAD!" Someone screamed

There was no denying it, that was Urania's soprano voice. Her screams were coming from the back lot of the venue — just beside the beach.

But before Tony could do anything, machineries came flying around the skies. Raining bullets and cannons toward the whole area.

One thing caught his attention the most — a suit, similar like his, carried a girl with dark hair and orange streaks on his arms.

Nia.

"NIA!" Tony yelled as the suit passed him

"DAD!" she managed to yell "BASE…WATER!"

"WHAT?"

But she was too far now. Her voice was inaudible.

Tony was utterly clueless. But he avoided the too-many bullets coming from the flying robots. There was a beep and the suit came zooming in towards him.

He dived and instantly, the device fitted itself unto his body in a matter of seconds.

Ironman soon propelled up in the air. He grabbed the too-many flying suits and wrestled with it. It was half the size of his.

Tony just chucked its head off and threw it on the ground in anger. Sensing that one of them was taken out, the other robots began to head to him, sending bullets on its way.

"Jarvis, how many are these things?"

_"About 600 sir. Each carrying its own type of attack — long range and short range."_

"Locate the blue one that carried Nia." Tony ordered while combating another droid.

_"The unit is about 49.2 meters away, 93.6 altitude sir."_

Looking up, Tony's helmet spotted the blue suit which was much bigger than any of these droids.

"NIA!" Tony yelled because he had noticed that his daughter was now lying limp.

He tried to fly toward her but was sent spiraling down into cold concrete by the too many robots. One by one, they started to stick on him as if they've been attracted to him like a magnet.

Tony's helmet was beeping like crazy for the auto-target lock-on. There were too many of them.

As the mass of metals started to pile up on Ironman and block his sight, there was one thing for certain:

He gotta save his daughter.

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"PUT ME DOWN! DAMN YOU!" Urania screamed and thrashed but its grip was too tight on her.

Her head was spinning, she couldn't breathe. The suit was carrying her too high.

To her surprise, the suit laughed which surprised her "Stark's little daughter is a baby eh?"

"SHUT UP! I SAID PUT ME DOWN! YOU SON OF A—" but she never got to finish her screaming because the suit suddenly flew down sharply.

Nia had to squeeze her eyes shut. She felt as if she was about to puke.

But its iron fingers suddenly took ahold of her jaw and tilted her face down. Slowly, she opened her eyes and saw an ocean of metal down by the road. Almost all of the droids were piled up in a great big mountain and underneath was—

"You Daddy can't even keep my Master's creations away."

Urania's stomach did a few summersaults. There were possibly more than a hundred droids attacking her father right now.

_Damn, I bet these robots are made of carbonized metal._ Nia thought, her mind spinning like crazy but it seemed it still works _did Tony ever listen to what I told him?_

These droids might be made of metal that was resistant to minor blasting. That might be a little problem. But what worries her is the fact that every destroyed unit mutates another two for every unit.

Tony needed help.

She quickly turned and focused her attention at the suit holding her. This must be designed just like her father's since the suit was talking. Thus, there might be a man inside.

She punched the helmet with her wrist but it only left her a broken bone and a disoriented watch.

Wait.

Her watch was made of platinum and cannot be easily bent. She didn't even hit that hard but her metal strap was deformed.

The suit was made of pure titanium. Possibly, it was still raw. And pure titanium is very brittle when cold.

That was when she noticed that the suit was flying away from the scene. Taking her to someplace she doesn't know. And he was flying very fast — approximately, 250 kilometers per hour.

Seizing the moment, Nia drew her knife from her adjusted-to-be-short cargo shorts (yes, she's wearing that every time) and stabbed the neck — the area in which a lot of wires were all lighting and beeping. It didn't dig deep.

The man in the suit laughed "Your pretty little knife can't hurt me. I'm Ironman, right?"

Nia grinned "I don't think so, boya."

And she flipped the handle open, where a hidden button was placed and pressed it hard.

Condensing fog so thick appeared and started to creep up the armor. Drizzles of ice froze instantly as soon as it licked the titanium's surface.

"What the—? Why you little—" but he soon froze in midair after that.

With a punch, the armor began to crack.

Nia sneered "Major fail. Try creating a better armor sometimes."

She positioned herself carefully and looked down.

Ocean. About 60 feet.

There was no time. She could hear the crack and soon enough, the ice will melt away and the man will regain his consciousness.

And Nia dived.

Expecting herself to be soaked in salt water, she fell on something hard.

On her dad.

"Need a hand?"

"Oh. Dad." Nia said and glanced behind.

A ton of robots were flying after them. She could see that they were angry.

"You shouldn't have run off like that. This isn't some playground Nia." He scolded, turning back and shooting the robots that were trailing behind.

"Dad, you gotta listen to me. These robots are multiplying rapidly. They're like the high-tech Greek Hydra — you kill one, two more appears." She explained hurriedly as they flew towards Pepper and Happy, who was waiting by the car.

The Ironman mask slid upward, revealing his father's tired face.

He was looking at her evenly "You're very smart Nia. But that's enough for today."

"But—"

Tony ignored her and walked towards Pepper's side "Pepper. Take Nia and go home. Just wait for me there. I'll be back."

"Are you sure Tony? Can you handle this alone?" Pepper asked, worried

"I'll be allright. I'll call Rhodes." And he turned to Nia "You have to understand. This is serious."

Nia said nothing, ignored him and climbed inside the car without another word.

Tony let out a sigh, returned the helmet back to its place and flew away.

"Nia? Are you allright?" Pepper asked, turning around to face her but then found no one "Nia? Nia — where are you?"

In panic, she went outside and caught a glimpse of Stark's daughter, running away to somewhere else. Before she could follow her, her phone beeped.

There was a text message saying:

**_I'll be fine. I know what I'm doing Pepper. Trust me on this. Please. Go home._**

**_ -Nia_**

Pepper was rooted to the spot. Nia don't even own a phone. How could she send a text like that?

But then, remembering that she was a Stark, she shook her head and prayed that she and her father will be allright.

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Nia hurriedly ran towards the little diving shack she spotted ages ago.

Although running away was her specialty, she can't do anything but to help her father defeat these robots. She's pretty sure Tony was having a difficult time.

She stopped, remembering something that Pepper might go and find her, Nia pulled out her extremely thin, shaped like a Sidekick, personal computer. Texting was not one of its features but she tried anyway. And searched for Pepper's number on the computer's high-tech yellow pages.

When it said it successfully sent the message, she quickly dashed towards the hut. No one was there.

Nia shut the door, locked it and began stripping off her clothes. There was a diving suit available. Even though it was twice her size, it'll have to do.

Then, she used her computer as a flashlight and began to look for useful stuff. A working flashlight, goggles and knives from one of her cargo short's pockets. Nia did a little exercise and began to run towards the bay.

How did she knew how do stunts? Easy. Nia knew everything. And when she meant everything, she meant _everything_. (Uh…does that make sense?)

The water was cold when she began to wade over towards higher depths. When the waves reached her chin, Nia glanced back and saw Ironman flying over, trying to defeat one robot after another. But he wasn't alone.

Another suit, with quicker bullets as if using a gatling* gun was on the rise as well.

_That must be Col. Rhodes._ Nia thought

Suddenly, bubbles began to emerge on the water not too far from her. Rising up, the droid suddenly pointed its guns at Nia.

She took a deep breath and swiftly dived downwards to avoid the bullets.

The droid, seeing that its target is underwater, was about to dive down but Nia swam silently beneath it and stabbed its head with one of her knives, pressed the button and it instantly froze like a humungous ice cube.

"Stupid bot." Nia muttered and pulled hard to take the knife back "You made me open my eyes underwater."

She checked the time on her computer; the machine creates a droid in every four minutes and a half. Based on the droid she had encountered earlier, the robot-making machine must be hidden somewhere underwater. Her father didn't notice that so it's up to her to shut it down.

The blade in her hand she had used to stab the machine was useless. Its condensing freezer ran out. It's only a regular knife now.

Propelling herself to stay floating, Nia put the goggles in place, took a deep breath and swam under.

The water was dark so she'd used the flashlight to light the way. She'd hoped it stayed a little longer since it wasn't built for underwater purposes.

She was maybe ten meters away from the ocean floor but she kept searching. For every few minutes, Nia had to rise up for air.

Once when she was about to lose hope, she bumped into a big metallic thing similar to an oven under a wooden dock.

That was also the time the flashlight fades out. Mentally cursing, Nia threw it away and used her PC as a source of light.

She went to the machine and inspected it. Darn, the goggles were blurry so she doesn't have a good view. Frowning, she quickly did an infrared scan and tried to study it through her computer screen.

It turns out; there were no wire, switches or any power meters. Just a thick slab of metal.

_There should be an encased wiring here somewhere._

Not giving up, she tried to flip it to reveal the bottom but it was too heavy.

_A little more pushing Nia._

Nia swam on its right side and began to push. It budged a little but then the ocean floor was soft so it didn't support her weight. Her lungs were burning. So she paddled upwards and gasped for air.

This time, as she swam downward, she banged herself on the metal so hard that she nearly fractured her whole right side. She pushed will all her might, grunting and cursing all the time and the metal flipped and revealed a secret compartment on its bottom.

Using the tip of her knife to unscrew the bolts, Nia saw two wires attached — one green and one red.

She did another scan and found that this metal is highly dangerous. Her head bobbed up on the water's surface. Coughing, Nia spat out a bit of salt water that nearly choked her and removed the damn blurry goggles. She slid open her PC (yes, QWERTY keypads, really disguised as a sidekick) and began to use the venue's dislocated server to connect herself to Ironman.

"Tony?" Nia spoke first "It's me. Nia."

"Hey — Nia," there was a lot of static on the other line "how did you — nevermind. Where are you?"

"Somewhere. But I'm not with Pepper right now. The thing is — hey, listen! Those bots aren't gonna stop multiplying if its base isn't destroyed. And I found it." Nia informed him

"I told you, this isn't the…" static "…to act like a superhero now. Rhodes and I got this."

"Come on! I already found it! At least, let me."

It was silent for a moment. Maybe the suit was sound-proof but she could hear her father's ragged breathing as he battled with one droid after another.

"Allright." He said finally "But I got full custody on you. Whatever happens—"

"I won't haunt you down even though you're the cause for my death. Anyway, inform Rhodes I found it."

"Good thinking." And he spoke to Rhodes, who was already connected to him "Rhodey, Nia found a way to defeat these guys."

"Who is Nia?"

"Watched TV? My daughter."

Static "Wait — what? Daughter? I can't believe…" Another static "…anyway, nice move kid."

"Listen you old men," Nia cut in, a little impatient "I found the machine that's responsible for creating robots. Underwater. If I shut this thing down, they might stop that mutating process and lose 73% of their general power. It turns out, Tony, this machine is powered by nuclear energy. I can only see two wires — one green, one red. If I cut the wrong one, it'll blow me to pieces and release actinium ions that might produce alpha rays and mess up that communication radio you guys wear…"

But Rhodes interrupted "I can't seem to follow you. Try speaking English."

"I am! I'm just saying that we got one shot at this. Tony, which one will I cut? I'm not good at this."

Tony grunted, as if taking a hit from a bot but then answered "Red wire."

"You sure?"

"Yeah — in movies, it's always the red wire."

"Dammit Dad, It's a life-or-death situation here."

"Trust me on this. Where are you?"

"About 160 meters away from you. Under the wooden dock. Allright," she took a deep breath "I'm about to cut this."

Mentally swallowing, her fingers trembled as she held the red wire and submerged her head down. If things go wrong, she'll probably blow up to pieces.

Holding the knife blade steady, she sliced the wire.

Bad move. A countdown was starting from 10-0.

"Oh — sh." Nia muttered underwater, forming bubbles and started swimming away like a mad fish.

It was a self-detonating device. She had cut the wrong one.

But the countdown was too fast.

_I am so dead._

**BOOM!**

* * *

**AN: ***The gatling gun thingy, I dunno what's the correct spelling. Neither my PC knows. Forgive me.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter SEVEN

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Wearing a deepened scowl, dripping wet, arms crossed and mad like hell, Nia stood by the bay walk. Watching the police with sharp eyes as they cleaned-up the mess.

People were gathering around but limited themselves against the police line. The press was taking pictures, almost having interviews with all of the people present but then they screamed as they saw Ironman, Nia and War Machine.

Tony was beside her, sitting on the concrete road while still wearing the Ironman suit. Col. James Rhodes was busy talking to the Chief Officer.

"I hate you." Nia spat at him, glaring

"What now? For saving your life?"

"I almost got killed! You knew the red was a wrong one!"

"Yet you believed in me anyway."

"Hmph."

Tony stared at her in mild disbelief "You angry? What matters is you're here with me. Alive."

"I'm not angry. Just annoyed." And she took out her PC and started to type a few buttons.

Realizing her computer wasn't a phone, Nia grudgingly turned to Tony.

"Can I borrow your phone?"

"What for?"

"Hell-o, I can't fly home with you. I'm going to call Happy to come and fetch me." Nia pointed out

"How about that gadget of yours?"

She frowned and held up her computer "PPC — Personal Pocket Computer. The first and the only one. Can hack devices, wi-fi compatible, can play music, download games, limits up to one hard drive, has 2.3 mm jack, do scans, touch and type function, scrounge connections and usable when underwater. And," Nia added "can be used as an actual latest of all latest computer. Thus, it isn't a phone. No, scratch that, sometimes, it is."

"My car is parked by the office building. Will it hurt if I take you to fly there with me?"

"Do you want me to throw up on your suit?"

"Not necessarily but there's no choice. Look, you're missing your chance to fly with the great Ironman." Tony reasoned out, grinning

"No thanks — I'm airsick sometimes."

She harrumphed again and turned her back on him. Feeling childish.

For Tony, it was as if dealing with a toddler's temper tantrums.

"What do you want, really?" Tony asked, looking up at her "A puppy? Kitten?"

She faced him "Are we done yet? I wanna go home."

"Allright."

As he stood up, that was the time that the media men finally got released out of their prison. They flocked towards Nia and Stark.

**"MR. STARK, WHAT CAN YOU SAY ABOUT THIS INCIDENT?"**

**"WE HEARD YOUR DAUGHTER SAVED THE NIGHT AS WELL, DO YOU WANT HER TO BE A SUPERHERO?"**

**"MR. STARK, ARE YOU PROUD TO HAVE URANIA?"**

Tony grabbed Nia's arm, blocking her away from the reporters, photographers and cameramen. On the other hand, Nia was very bothered and irritated. She was tired, annoyed and somewhat grumpy.

He gave them a grin and said "I still have to take my daughter home."

And with that, he took hold of her and blasted off into the night.

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"Look here Nia," Tony said clearly, his deep brown eyes serious. "I'm your father and you're my daughter."

"Yeah." Nia replied casually, nodding.

"Do you trust me?"

She looked at him, gray eyes wistful "Yeah, a bit."

"A bit…That's something…See, I just got the feeling you and I need some talking."

"Talking."

"Okay, let me start this with a question — where'dya learned how to…act like that?"

"Act? How? You meant me being your goody two-shoes daughter?"

"Not that. The uh, I'm-a-ninja stunt act. The way you've dealt the guy who took you."

There was silence for a minute. Nia was obviously weighing her options.

"Would you listen to my story then, Tony?" she said finally, avoiding his eyes and looked straight past the road.

"What story?"

"The truth."

"You mean… you're not really my daughter?"

"Heck — no. I just…listen, okay? Just listen."

"Allright. As long as it comes with free popcorn." Tony joked which earned him a glare coming from his daughter.

Nia took a deep breath and began.

"Let's start with…the day before my mom died. It isn't true I was four when she died. I was seven. At St. Mary's, I didn't spend my whole eleven years back there — just five."

"So…what did you do with the rest?" Tony asked, sometimes glancing to see what she was doing. Nia had been playing with her hands as she narrated her story.

"I had no other siblings so I was lonely. My mom was the only one who knew me and I loved her for that." Nia said softly, not answering his question "I knew she was sick, even though I was young. You know, there are times she couldn't get out of bed because it hurts so bad…And…I couldn't help her. All I could do was to watch her suffer and cry out in pain. I hated myself after that. And by the minute she was going away, she made me promise something. That I should go and reunite with you. Mom knew you were going to accept me. She died believing you loved me even though you have possibly no idea I even existed."

Tony just cleared his throat and now he was the one avoiding her eyes.

"When she passed away, only a group of people came by her funeral. Although mom was nice, not everybody would like to waste their time and mourn for her loss. Only her bestfriend, Clara Ray, was the only one who could share my grief. She too, loved my mother. She also knew the fact that I have no one to go to except at you."

"Although Clara wanted to adopt me, she couldn't. She was financially broke. And maybe she was thinking she may give me another difficult life so the best option was to send me in a foster home. I hated the idea instantly. It made me feel even more alone. As if kids like me were never accepted into society. So…I ran away."

"At seven?" Tony asked

"Yes. I've been spending my seventh year on Earth sleeping on abandoned buildings, salvaging unfit food, picked-up fights and earned money but of course, I kept an eye on _you_. I had every detail of you in check and I knew you were capable of taking full custody of me." She gave him a woebegone grin.

"Of course. Such a stalker you are." Tony noted

"So when I turned eight, I managed to save money for a plane ticket bound for California. But then…a few kids found me, tried to steal my money and pretty soon it turned into a gang fight — me versus two teams of juvenile kids. I was badly beaten-up of course. But in that way, the police found me and I was scheduled to be taken into a juvenile home but then…"

"Let me guess, you escaped." He said flatly

"Yeah. I was pretty sneaky. But it was the time I realized I need to fight back to the guys who'd beaten me up. In that process, I end up stuck in Montana." Then Nia smiled "This time, I was badly broke. No money, hungry and had a couple of fractures on my elbow, wrist, neck and back. So I collapsed on a Monk monastery."

"Good thing they were nice. The people living there took me in and took care of me till I could walk. Pretty soon, it was time for me to leave but I pleaded I would work as the gardener's apprentice. Why would I do that? It's because it was actually a school of martial arts. Few kids my age went there to take lessons and I quietly watch and tried to do the things they learned. The monk in charge — pretty much the principal, his name was Master Shang, 'saw my determination' and taught me himself. It took me the whole two years to master everything."

"So that's how you learned how to be a ninja?"

"Master Shang was both a Samurai and a Ninja. Pretty cool right? So I learned to have self-defense. He was also the one that took me to Trax — the scientist who'd gave me the PPC. He knew where you lived so I'm here."

There was a silence for a while as they reached Tony's driveway. As they got off, Nia, still wearing the diver's suit, ran towards her room.

"Wait, Nia!" Tony called and got off the car.

"Yeah?" she said, her eyes were a bit red. Did she cry?

"How could I make everything up to you?" he asked suddenly, his eyes on the floor.

Then she showed him her brilliant smile "Never-ending pizza supply. I'm going to bed. Goodnight. Dad."

"Goodnight Nia."

* * *

**AN:** I know it was short and cheesy. Forgive me. My mind is totally blank. *sigh* If a PPC was true — hey, I invented that! Promise. My first idea.


	8. Chapter 8

**AN:** Thank you for following this story. I hope I could give you a PPC one by one. Oh, and I live by a protocol now. I will **NOT BE UPDATING UNTIL I GOT 5+ REVIEWS**.

I worked so hard and stayed up late to walk around the house, thinking for a really good plot. And I really wanna know if it pays off. So please do review.

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Chapter EIGHT

The next few days, news about the rise of Tony's so-called "only daughter" was one of the hottest topic ever. Urania Stark's name was printed all over — the news, newspapers, magazines, articles and discussions. To Nia's opinion, she has to be considered as "youngest most-talked person" on the world records.

There was never a day that the Stark residence would receive a phone call, asking the three of them (Tony, Pepper and Nia) for an interview. This was the irritating part. Thankfully, Nia had gotten over the urge to cut the lines of his father's phone — funny, it's cordless. Okay, whatever.

Five days after the party fiasco, Nia was nowhere to be seen.

"Nia? Nia!" Pepper called.

Still, there was no answer.

"Nia? Where are you?" she yelled again, heading towards the balcony.

Just then, she heard footsteps behind her.

"Who are you looking for?" Tony asked casually, leaning against the sliding door's frame and watching her.

She gave him a look "Your daughter. She hasn't had any breakfast yet."

"I'm pretty sure she's just here somewhere. I mean, I counted my suits and so far, not one's missing."

"Let's just ask Jarvis." And Pepper turned to the computer "Where is Nia Jarvis?"

_"She's by Mr. Stark's workroom."_

"Thought so." Tony said glumly

They went downstairs to hear the sound of a metal being drilled.

"How did she get in here?" Pepper asked in wonder "She didn't ask you for the pass code, didn't she?"

"Nope." He replied, lips popping on the letter p.

But they went inside anyway, curious on what Tony's daughter was up to.

"Hey kid, what are you doing?"

There was a thud, a yell and a sound of metal tools clattering on the floor.

Both Tony and Pepper immediately saw Nia sitting on the cold floor, a hand on her head as soon as they came into the scene.

"Ow…" she groaned.

"Nia!" Pepper exclaimed and went towards her "Are you allright?"

"I'm fine. Perfectly fine." Nia replied and stood up, patting away dusts on her jeans.

Tony inspected her with sharp eyes to figure out what she was doing.

There was a big oil stain on her t-shirt, her skin was glistening with sweat and on her hand was a wrench. He glanced at one of the newer cars he bought — a yellow Hennessey Venom GT. Although it looked quite shiny, there was something wrong with it.

"What did you do to my car?" he asked casually

Nia raised her eyebrows in surprise "What car? Nope — I didn't do anything."

Tony 'tsk'ed in irritation "My car. That one. What did you do?"

"I…uh…"

"Nia, did you do something wrong? Just tell him the truth. It's much better." Pepper said quietly, putting a hand on her shoulder.

Nia sighed "I'm just experimenting and I thought that Hennessey's easy to customize. Allright — I didn't ask permission. Sorry." She said finally, shrugging.

Before Tony can speak up, Jarvis interrupted.

_Sir, there's a message for you._

Someone's voice followed after a beep.

"How you doin' Stark? Your name's been all over the news lately. Haha! Oh wait — your last name, actually. Anyway, tell you what, when you received this, I'm already at your front door. So be a good boy and open it up. I've got something to tell you."

Click.

"Oh great," Tony groaned "we've got an unwanted visitor." And he turned to his daughter "You. Go to your room and fix yourself."

Nia frowned and gave him an annoyed look.

"I'll go with her." Pepper announced and with a nod, she and Nia went away from the garage.

Tony, somehow, stayed. He ran a hand through his hair — his habit for anxiety, and cursed under his breath.

Nick Fury was the sender. Why would he be here?

_Mr. Stark, a guest is waiting by the door._

He paused; will he let that annoying guy in or what?

"Send him in Jarvis." He said finally and made way upstairs.

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When Tony sent Nia to change clothes with Pepper, she somehow escaped from her father's girlfriend's grasp and ran towards the living room — clothes unchanged, hair in a mess, and looking tired and sweaty.

She saw an olive-skinned man wearing a dark, long coat with an eye patch on his left* eye sitting on a chair, facing her father. Beside him, standing was a dark-haired guy in a black t-shirt, jeans and a dark coat. He looked oddly familiar.

"Ahoy Captain, lost your boat?" Nia greeted the eye patched dude.

The three of them turned. The standing guy's face looked at her fully.

It was then Nia realized she had met that boy.

"YOU!" she said, full of despise.

"Me." The boy replied casually "Have we met?"

Her fury deepened "Of course we did."

"Can't remember."  
Nia frowned just when Tony interrupted.

"Nia, you're not supposed to —" he began

"Now, now, Tony. I think your daughter has the right to be here. She's actually the reason why I'm here." The dude said.

Tony looked at the guy evenly "Fury, I don't where you're heading but if you're thinking what I'm thinking I'm saying it's not a good —"

"Stark, she's capable."

"She's just a kid. For crying out loud."

"This boy is a kid too."

"But she's _my_ daughter."  
Nia crossed her arms and watched the two grown men squabble like two old women. She felt so left behind and hasn't got a clue on what they are talking about. Who is this man anyway?

"What are you guys talking about?" Nia asked irritably, scowling.

Her father gave an irritated sigh as the man gave her a look.

"Sit, girl."

She obeyed. Sitting on the plush leather couch, pouting just in time Pepper had appeared on the scene.

"Nia — why did you — oh." She said as soon as she had spotted the man then at Tony "Are you going to…" her voice trailed off.

"Yes, he will." Tony replied curtly, throwing an angry look at the black man.

Urania threw her arms in disgust "Why does everybody seem to know about this but not me?"

"Easy, kid." The man replied, chuckling "You will. Ms. Potts, would you like to join us?"

"Allright. I will."

And she sat beside Nia, putting an arm on her in a motherly way.

"So, let me explain young Stark —" the man started but Nia cut him off.

"I have a name. Call me Urania."

The man nodded in agreement "Okay then. Listen carefully Urania. My name is Nick Fury. I work for the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division. For short, it's called SHIELD. This is a top secret counter terrorism agency. We are responsible for maintaining peace around the world."

"Isn't that the army's job?" she asked plainly

"Ours is different. Heard about what happened here in the US? About when those extra-terrestrial creatures suddenly sprouted and attacked the citizens."

"Yeah. I heard it from the news. My dad was the famed superhero that time. Along with a group wearing different outfits. There was even a great, big, green mascot."

Tony snorted but then kept quiet. Nia was dead serious about her answer.

"Well, those 'mascots' you're talking about are actually different agents."

"Agents?" Nia repeated

"Yes. If you put it that way. They work for SHIELD — just like your father. But he's different. Sort of under probation — just a consultant."

She gave Tony a sideway glance but then settled her eyes back at Fury.

"Although Ironman is just working part-time, this agent — I'm quite certain you've met him. Right?"

"Yeah. I threw rocks at him while he was climbing up a tree like a monkey." She replied hastily

"Shut up." The boy hissed

"His name is Sky Crescent — he's sixteen. One of the youngest agents of SHIELD. He's one of the finest and when you were out at the party, he was keeping eye on one of our targets."

"Targets? Who are we talking about, exactly?"

"The man who nearly kidnapped you. The man in the blue suit. Raza — the former leader of Ten Rings."

Nia felt Pepper's grip on her tightened.

"Who was that guy? I was really having fun with his suit." Nia said loftily, unable to catch the seriousness in the adult's voice.

This time, Pepper spoke up "Raza…I mean, the Ten Rings, are a group of terrorist back at Afghanistan who kidnapped your Dad."

"Yeah." Tony supplied "He's the reason why I've got my heart glowing from the start."

"So if you've escaped, isn't he dead?" Nia asked

Fury pursed his lips "We've thought so. We could have debriefed your annoying dad back then about him but he's just so damn stubborn."

"High five." Nia exclaimed, poker-faced but then added "So, right now, that Raza is alive? Can't you just track that man, shoot him and drive away?"

"It's not that easy as it seems." Sky — the boy agent, said "Raza's giving us the idea that the Ten Rings don't exist anymore. But he's alive. So he must've been working with someone else. We're using him as a clue for further study."

"Wait. That reminds me…the night I've been swooped down by that guy…he told me something — that he's working on the orders give by his 'Master' or something." Nia said

"Clearly — someone has higher authority than him." Tony said "Time to kick a grown man's ass."

Nia and Pepper both rolled their eyes.

"If Raza is working for someone else, who is it?" Pepper asked

"We still don't know…yet." Fury replied

"Wait, wait, wait." Nia interrupted "Why are you telling me this? I can't do anything about it. Tony's the superhero — not me."

"Oh yeah." Fury agreed "We're also here to offer you this."

And he handed Nia a thin, black folder with silver letters pasted on the front. Both Tony and Pepper eyed her and the folder unenthusiastically.

"The Avengers Alliance request." She read "Yeah right. What the hell is all this?"

Fury looked at her skeptically "The name says it all. Ironman is part of the Avengers as well — the group who was in-charge of defeating Loki and his troops. But once the battle ended, they do not respond to SHIELD right now."

"So? What do you want with me?"

"Well, we've heard about what you've done with that Droid Multiplier last week. And I can say, you did a pretty good job."

"You want me to be SHIELD's agent, am I right?"

"Correct. But we also want you to be part of Phase Two."

"Phase Two…" Tony repeated "What are you talking about? You haven't said anything about this."

"Your father's the founder of it as well, Stark. So I think you'll agree to this." Fury informed him and turned to answer Nia's confused face "Phase Two is SHIELD's project about reverse engineering the advanced alien technology we have. Urania, you're the smartest girl I knew of your age — so I want you to be one of the researchers."

"Lab work…again." Nia sighed and shook her head "Sorry Mr. Nick Fury, I'll miss school if I work for you."

"You don't go to school."

Her eyes narrowed "You're far worse than an insane stalker."

"That's what we do."

And with that, Fury stood up "We don't have much time. I'll let you think about it first. Easy there, Tony."

"You never change Fury."

"Same old, same old." He said as he went away together with his agent.

The three of them watched the two men-in-black-coats disappear. Fury gave them a nod before he turned to leave the Stark residence.

"…Wow." Nia said right after they were gone "Fury's cool. Black skin, black coat and an eye patch. How awesome is that?"

But that didn't lighten the two adult's mood. Tony and Pepper seemed to talk to each other so fast that she's losing touch on what they were discussing.

Tony: I don't think we should —

Pepper: Yeah. Nia's too young and everything —

Tony: She's inexperienced —

Pepper: Even though how smart your daughter is —

Tony: …can't risk my own daughter in saving the world —

Pepper: Why would Fury propose something like —?

Tony: That man's crazy. He always is.

"Guys, why are you two looking so panicked?" Nia said, eyeing them both back and forth, her gray eyes sending sparks.

"Let's just ask her." Pepper suggested

Tony nodded "So Nia…what do you think?"

"About what?"

"About this." He replied, brandishing the black folder right infront of her face.

She bit her lip. This was no easy choice. Both Fury and her father have different options for her in mind. And it was really difficult to pick.

Yes, she might be young. Inexperienced. Fresh. Innocent. That might pull her down if she was working as an agent. But it can be perks as well. Enemies might think she's weak but the truth is, it's plain opposite.

The bad thing is, everything that might happen to her is real. Truly. She might get hurt; get a few broken bones, burnt to death, kidnapped, stabbed, shot, injected with poison, suffocated or any whatever hideous possible reason for an agent to get killed. Ooh, that stings.

She shook her head "It's too early to decide. Why? You want me to choose now?"

"Not necessarily." He said and nodded in agreement "Take all the time you need, kiddo."

"Nia, just be careful about what you'll choose, okay?" Pepper reminded her

"I will. Thanks."

"Give me a hug." Pepper said and reached for Nia, arms open "I'm real proud of you."

Nia stepped in and hugged her back, with a big, satisfied grin on her face.

Tony watched them in disbelief. Pepper turned to him and reached as well.

He shook his head "I'm not into all girly reunions Peps."

"Oh come on!" She said and grabbed him anyway, pulling him into a group hug.

Meanwhile inside the warm circle of family embrace, Nia was trying not to let the tears fall. For somehow, for the first time, she felt complete.

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Nia threw her pillow at the door in irritation.

She was grounded. Just now. Tony had brought it up a minute ago. Just before he went to work.

_"Hey." Tony greeted her as soon as he got Nia cornered by the kitchen. Alone._

_Nia studied him. He was wearing a shirt and a coat. Where is he going?_

_"Where are you going?" she asked quizzically_

_"Work. Got a sudden conference with the shareholders." He grumbled._

_"Ah…"_

_Then he suddenly put up a big, cheery smile. Like the Joker on TV._

_Nia's look deepened "You're creeping me out. What is it?"_

_"Guess what?"_

_"You're finally agreeing to the fact that I can wear your Ironman suit?"_

_"No. Just this — you're grounded."_

**_"WHAT?"_**

_"You heard me. You. Are. Grounded."_

_"Whoah, whoah — where did that came from?"_

_"Huh, I must've forgotten to remind you the day you ran away from the party."_

_"How come I'm grounded?" Nia shrieked_

_Tony pursed his lips "Hmm…Oh yeah. Just because I wanted to. You're pretty sneaky."_

_"Well, you know that! But what makes you think I'm going to follow that order?"_

_"Because I said so."_

_"That's unfair —"_

_"You're still grounded."_

_"You're just like —"_

_"You're still grounded."_

_"Haven't you —"_

_"You're still grounded."_

_"This is —"_

_"Aaaand you're still grounded."_

_Nia shook her head in frustration "Ugh! How come you don't always let me finish speaking?"_

_"You talk so much." He replied, shrugging "So Nia — no funny business okay? Pepper's going to be with me."_

_"Can't I come?"_

_"No."_

_She gave him a smug look "Ouch."_

_"You'll be bored as hell in there — trust me. I'm really not into the plan of you being here all alone —"_

_She folded her arms "I can take care of myself."_

_"Now your Daddy's Ironman? I don't think so."_

_She just rolled her eyes in irritation and waved her hand impatiently._

_"Fine." Nia said "I'll be here."_

_"Good girl." Tony commented, grinning "Jarvis is on guard mode. He'll let me know if something happens."_

_"Yeah, yeah. Bring me a pizza or something."_

_"Allright then. Just don't touch my cars!"_

_"Yeah, sure."_

That memory still makes her eye twitch in irritation.

While biting the inside of her cheek in concentration, Urania has been thinking of sneaking. Why? Just because she wanted to.

What Nia wants, Nia gets. She lived by that motto.

Grinning wickedly to herself, she jumped off her bed, passed by Carbon who was sleeping, grabbed her hiking boots, and wore jeans, a sleeveless tank top and a jacket over it. But before evacuating her room, she took ahold her PPC connector and made way downstairs.

When Urania get to the double doors, the door was slid shut.

"Is he planning to lock me here inside? Ha, I'm no lady-with-the-long-hair Rapunzel." Then she ordered "Jarvis, open the door."

_"Access denied."_

She pressed the pass code she stole from the home computer database. She could've just asked Pepper but you know Nia, she did it the hard way.

_"Access to open the main door is denied."_

_You really are tough_, Nia thought.

She pulled her PPC from her pocket and began to fumble with it. After a series of tiny beeps, Jarvis' control over the house was operated by Nia. It wasn't that easy. Her father is really clever when creating a computer interface.

Nia stepped outside gleefully and met sunlight immediately.

_Now, where would I go?_ She thought but an idea was already planted on her mind.

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Nia roamed the outskirts of Malibu, looking tired and somewhat fazed. Seeing the streets packed with people, she could clearly remember the day she used to live on abandoned buildings, shielding herself from nature through a big jacket propped on sticks. Seriously.

She kept her jacket hood up — for fear of being mobbed by strangers. That's why she hates fame and glamour, everything seemed so necessary.

When Nia passed by a small park, she suddenly felt a presence.

**_CLANG!_**

She glanced back at the noise; there were a few people behind her. They passed the unknown girl with the face unseen to attend each of their businesses. None of them seemed suspicious.

_Relax,_ she thought to herself, _that was just the sound of a can falling, silly._

She kept on walking.

Passing by a café, a bookstore, a tattoo shop, an antique shop and a few uncivilized buildings came into view as she continued her pace. The place around her was getting creepier by the minute. There were maybe one or a couple of people passing by but the eerie feeling of being watched was increasing.

But Nia kept on walking.

Footsteps. Behind her. She could hear it so light.

She kept on walking with no precise direction at all. Walking. Walking. And walking.

Then, Nia was running.

And so did the person following her.

She glanced back. There were one, two, and three…what now? Five men?

Great, how many knives did she bring with her today? Three? Not enough.

Nia dashed towards a dark alley. The distance between her and her pursuers are a bit far. It might be an advantage.

It was a dead end. She was now facing a concrete wall.

The footsteps are approaching. She had to think fast. Or else, she might end up kidnapped.

She looked around wildly, heart beating like mad, she spotted a metal pole sticking horizontally on the right side of the alley. It wasn't too high. Just enough for her to climb the top of the two story building.

She jumped and grasped the cold metal immediately.

"Ow!" she hissed.

In doing so, a piercing sensation was felt on her shoulder sockets because of the sudden movement.

Ignoring the pain, Nia swung herself up and managed to grab the building's cemented gutter. Pulling herself up, Nia tried to endure the slight dislocation of her left shoulder. There was no time for pain.

She pulled out two condensing knives from her boots and looked down.

Her hunch was right. The men were _indeed_ after her.

"Where did she go?" one demanded

Silently praying, Nia dived down, with blades in each hand.

She landed on a man's shoulders. Which she stabbed soon after and froze him that alerted the others.

They turned to see one of their comrades, all froze up like an ugly ice sculpture. They raised their guns and shot madly at her direction.

Nia dodged, jumped and grabbed the nearest abductor on her right. She flipped him over her shoulder (judo-flipping, man) and the captor slammed his back hard on the concrete floor. Then she bent down, stabbed and clicked the button that freezes human flesh.

The other three tried to grab her but she slashed the air in an arc-like motion with her two knives.

Nia could win this. She got that daredevil grin plastered on her face.

Suddenly —

**_ZZEEERRT!_**

"Aaaaaaargh!" Nia screamed

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"…to congratulate Mr. Stark for increasing the value percentage of…"

Blah, blah, blah. Yadda, yadda.

Tony had to resist the urge to yawn. This is the most boring part of being him — the annoying business people. They kept arguing, frowning and was all too serious. Surely, them and him was never a match.

He glanced at his wristlet. Still on normal mode. Ton wondered how his daughter was doing if she found out she couldn't go outside. Well, she's grounded anyway.

He felt a ring on his pocket. His phone was beeping. The people around who practically fixed their eyes infront, looked at him.

"Oops." Tony said nonchantly "Carry on."

He fished out his semi-transparent phone and saw an e-mail.

From: _server ErroR!

/elp!

"Huh? Who could've possibly —?" He spoke to himself out loud

"Mr. Stark, are you saying something?"

He snapped back to the present.

"Nothing Jules. Uh…continue on your discussion."

And when he shifted on his seat, Pepper caught his attention. She was throwing him an annoyed look, telling Tony to behave.

"Someone mailed me." Tony mouthed at her secretly

Pepper's lips opened but no sound came out. She was clueless.

He leaned a little to the right to see her more fully. Pepper was vacated on the back of the long table altogether with other people. She was too far to talk to.

"I said," he mouthed again, with hand gestures this time "Someone mailed me."

He ignored the surprised look of one of the shareholders. He may have thought Tony was making faces at him.

Pepper raised an irritated hand and waved it once at him. For Tony, it was like that childish "shoo!" body language.

It also meant another thing.

"Excuse me," he interrupted while the speaker was in mid-speech "Uh…sorry folks but I have to go. Emergency."

"Almost all of your reasons are because of emergencies, Mr. Stark."

He shrugged "Oh, that was all Ironman stuff. But this one is different — it's emergency of the highest order."

The pudgy man infront sighed and nodded "Allright, you may go."

Tony turned and walked away, beaming. As soon as he got out, Pepper was at his heels.

"Tony — just what are you up to?" she asked irritably

He turned to look at her "I thought you'd let me go out."

"No I didn't! I said you should pay attention on what's infront."

"Is it? Well, I got out now. It doesn't matter." And he glanced at his wristlet "Jarvis, I want to talk to Nia."

And to both of their surprises, there was no answer.

"Something's not right." Tony said "Jarvis isn't responding. Peps, we have to go home."

"I hope there's nothing wrong with your daughter." Pepper said worriedly

He didn't say anything but instead took hold of her wrist and lead the way towards the car where Happy was waiting.

"Where to, Mr. Stark?"

"Home, Happy. Pepper, get in."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter NINE

When Nia opened her eyes, everything was dark.

But definitely, she doesn't feel so good.

Her head was throbbing, her arms are sore, her legs were stinging, her ankle felt like burning, there was a nasty cut on her cheek and she felt as if she'd swallowed a fuzz ball by the state of her throat.

Nia had no idea what happened.

"Wh-where am I?" she asked herself.

Her voice was hoarse and she was very thirsty. She couldn't even move around because her body felt heavy.

It looked like she was inside a vehicle because everything seemed to be moving.

Nia moved ran her hands around the area. She felt cool metal under her palm.

"WHERE THE HELL AM I?!" she suddenly screamed and pounded the wall with her fist "GET ME OUT OF HERE! LET ME OUT!"

"There's no point in screaming." A voice said.

"Wah!" she yelped in surprise. She wasn't alone after all "Who are you?"

"Don't worry — my name's Sophie. How about you?"

"Nia. Where are we?"

"Inside a container van."

Sophie's answers were short. But by the voice, Nia could plainly tell that the person she's talking to was a female. Well duh, there aren't any guys who bore the name Sophie.

"What happened?" Nia asked again

She heard Sophie take in a shaky breath "I'm not really sure but…I remember I was kidnapped. Then, we were taken to a wharf and were shipped until here."

"Kidnapped…" she repeated.

As Sophie explained, Nia's mind was throwing her pictures of what happened the last few days. Like a mental slideshow.

"Oh…right," she agreed "I _was_ kidnapped. By some dudes in black. Yeah."

"You were asleep for two days. From what I've seen back at the ferry. I think they might have drugged you or something."

"Two days? I never fell asleep that long. Well, I guess they did. But…Sophie, if they did sent us across the country, where are we?"

"Cassie says we're in Brazil right now."

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**URANIA STARK, STILL MISSING**

"After a day's search of Stark Industries' renowned CEO, Mr. Tony Stark's daughter, officer reports showed that there is still no sign of her. Urania Stark, a fifteen-year old girl, who was first publicly known during the Minneton party, was last seen at the…"

Pepper turned the TV off. It was no use.

It's been two days since Nia was gone. Two days worth of worriedness from Pepper for Tony and his missing daughter. That was all she can do. She couldn't trust the local police anymore.

When she and Tony arrived home from the shareholder's meeting, they both immediately noticed that the house felt so vacant. They frantically searched everywhere but in the end, only found Urania's beloved dog, Carbon, whining and scratching the door of her closed room.

Although Pepper was really anxious on where in the world Nia is now, Tony was far beyond concerned for his daughter.

He wasn't getting enough sleep, barely eating, leaving the house without even informing her, and was always down on his workroom. The day he found out that Nia was missing; he even flew towards SHIELD and confronted Fury.

The house went quiet as soon as the Urania vanished. Unusually quiet.

Pepper finally stood up and walked slowly to where Tony was.

"…You hungry?" she heard Tony ask Carbon "I told you, Nia's not here. But we'll find her. I'm sure we will."

"Of course." Pepper assured him, stepping in as soon as the door slid open.

"You might think I'm crazy — talking to a dog." He said and looked back to the computer screen

She gave him a small smile "Nia does it everytime."

He didn't say anything for a moment but instead, just studied the things on the screen.

"Do you…" Pepper said, putting a hand on his shoulder "have any clue on where she is now?"

Tony stayed silent for minute then said slowly "Found this." And he lifted up a small gadget the size of a cellphone that he was always holding for Pepper to see "It's hers. She dropped it on a wharf in Florida."

"Florida?"

"Yeah."

"How could…" then she shook her head "It's impossible for Nia to run away."

"She's been abducted." Tony confirmed "Even though how smart Nia is, she can't go to Florida that fast."

"Oh God…"

He stood up "I'm going to spank that girl once she gets home."

Pepper nearly laughed. At least, Tony is certain he'll find his daughter.

Jarvis' sudden announcement surprised them both.

_"Mr. Stark, there's a message for you. Should I play it?"_

"Yeah."

"Stark, come here by the HQ. I've got something that'll help you find your daughter." Fury said

Tony suddenly stopped as soon as his voice reached his ears. For an instant, Pepper could see hope on his tired-looking eyes.

Without any reply, he turned to where his suits were displayed and put one on. Even though it all looked different to one's eye, it all looked the same to Pepper. It all saves lives.

"You're going?"

He nodded.

Pepper smiled "Be safe, okay?"

"I'm okay enough to take that that abductor's head off. Pepper, It'll be safer if you go with SHIELD."

"Jarvis is with me."

"A little girl told me not to trust computers too much."

"Well, go and find her then Tony. So you can rest easy. I'll be fine."

"I will."

Tony walked towards the balcony and watched the scenery. The sky was a perfect shade of forget-me-not blue, with the sun shining blindly overhead and clouds floating overhead in thin wisps underneath the calm, blue waters. It doesn't fit with their state.

He turned and said to Pepper "Peps, I wanna say thank you. Before I forgot."

"I'll say your welcome when you come back home with her. Promise me you'll be back."

"I promise."

But before she could respond, Tony stepped forward and gave her a kiss before flying off into the sky.

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"Nia, wake up."

Nia obeyed. Her eyelids came fluttering open but then closed. It felt so heavy. She was so sleepy.

"I'm dead serious. Girl, wake up."

"Allright…" she finally opened her eyes wide enough for her skin to stretch "Uh…who are you again?"

She was looking straight at a blonde girl with tanned skin and almond colored eyes.

"I told you — my name's Sophie."

Nia slapped herself to stay awake "Oh, right. Yeah, I remember. How come it's all sunny?"

"They've opened the window." She explained and pointed at a small rectangular slit on the metal wall.

"Explains a lot."

Suddenly, the car suddenly stopped with a screech and a beep of a horn. Both Sophie and Nia was thrown to the other side.

Nia yelped "Ow!" as soon as her bad cheek came in contact with something hard.

There were a few sounds of pain as well. But it didn't come from her or even Sophie.

"Huh, so, we're not alone after all." Nia said as she eyed the other people inside the van.

There were three other people in there. Two girls and a boy a little younger than her.

Sophie glanced at the others "Yes. They woke up a little later after I did. This one is May." She introduced, pointing on a girl with short brown hair "The boy's Axel and the other is little Cassie." Gesturing to the boy with blond hair and the little girl with raven hair just like hers.

Nia noticed Cassie's blue eyes turned wide "I saw you on Splash TV — you're Urania Stark, right?"

"Yeah kid — but this isn't the time for some autograph signing, okay?" she scratched her good cheek "Last time I asked, we we're in Brazil. Where are we now?"

"Still Brazil." Answered Cassie, much to her surprise "But this is part of the AmazonForest now."

"Okay. As much as I know, it'll take nineteen hours to travel from Malibu to Brazil."

Nia suddenly got up and peered into the tiny window.

It was too small, but her pupils managed to squeeze into the tiny sight. All she could make out was a couple of trees and a muddy path.

"Seen anything?" —Sophie.

"Just trees. We _are_ in a forest. Probably, they can't take us too far."

"What do might happen to us?" said May

Nia's brows furrowed "We might all have something in common that made them kidnap us."

"I'm not rich like you." — Cassie.

"I live in LA." — Sophie.

"Me too." — Axel

"Me three." — May "I also go to Circuit High."

"I do too." — Axel

"I don't go to school." Nia interrupted, crossing her arms.

_This is stupid,_ she thought with a sigh _that's why I hate going to school._

Oh yeah, let me remind you. Nia hates hanging out with kids her age or lower.

She resisted the feeling to face palm herself. None of them seemed to find something in common. If they did, they might solve the mystery of why they were abducted.

"Allright then, we'll just find a way to get out of here."

And she fumbled for her PPC on her pockets and ended up having nothing.

Nia scrunched up her face in disgust "Aw, darn. My computer's gone."

She should have noticed it earlier that she's not even wearing her jacket. -_-

"You can put your computer on your pocket?" asked Cassie innocently

Nia's gray eyes shone "Yep. Believe me or not. So, since I have no tech with me, let's just do this the old fashioned way."

With that, she kicked her right boot off and stuck her hand inside, pulling out the last foldable condensing knife. Seems the kidnappers took her two other knives away.

"Since when did you get that?" Sophie asked

"All the time." And she added "Just let me ask this — any of you got a phone?"

"They're not stupid enough to leave us with one."

"It was worth a try."

Nia crawled to the other side and inspected the walls.

She glanced at the others "Uh…favor? Mind if you go and inspect the walls? See if there's a bar or a lock we can pick on or anything aside from a metal sheet I'm seeing."

"Okay." They said in unison.

A few minutes later, Nia sank on the floor, sighing.

"I got nothing. How about you?" she asked

"None over here."

"Yeah. Just a wall."

She bit her lip in agitation. Nothing was working.

"Weird…We can't even throw our weight on one side because it's all metal. Well duh, it's a car. Can't take out a van." She scraped the wall with the tip of her knife as she muttered a few things to herself.

Sophie stared at her "What are we gonna do?"

"Let's just wait for a chance to escape I guess. Wait 'till they let us out, I'm gonna punch them right in the face."

Her companion nodded as well as Cassie, May and Axel. They crawled into some corner and just sat, staring at nothing.

This was probably the worst. Being stuck in an armored car with a bunch of…useless kids.

If only they had brains. They shouldn't be relying too much on me.

"Can't Ironman save us?" Cassie asked suddenly

May nodded in agreement "Your dad's Ironman right?"

"Yeah. I know he's doing everything he can. Let's just not rely on him too much. My Dad's a human too." And Nia stretched her arms, wincing when her left arm was pulled too much "For the meantime, let me sleep."

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Tony arrived on the SHIELD helicarrier twenty minutes after he left his home.

Fury was waiting by the entrance. Beside him was Natasha Romanova, a SHIELD agent whom Tony met last year as Pepper's secretary — aka Natalie Rushman. She kept an eye on how capable he is being a so-called 'super hero'.

Anyway, that was last year. Just two months before Loki appeared out of nowhere and used the Tesserac to cause mayhem among Earth. Messing with Ironman got his ass kicked.

"This better be good." Tony said to him

He gave a perplexed smile "It's good allright. Agent Romanova caught someone."

"Terrific." Said Tony sarcastically and began to walk straight ahead.

"It's your Raza." Widow shot back.

He stopped dead on his tracks.

"What?"

"He's the one you're looking for, isn't he, Stark?" she added, crossing her arms while staring at him.

"She and Agent Strife found him at Brazil the other night." Fury explained, walking slowly towards him

"Isn't that Agent Strife that kid you've introduced to Urania?"

"Yeah."

Tony turned and looked at both Fury and Widow evenly "Take me to that Raza."

Fury raised both his eyebrows in approval "Very well."

"Let's just start the chat here." Widow announced and decided to lead the way.

Tony stared after her "Why do I keep seeing that woman? Your favorite?"

"She's always available."

"Huh. But for dates she isn't." Tony muttered but then shook his playboy-alert away "Anyway, let's just cut to the chase Fury. What's up? You know I've got my hands full."

"You Raza is obviously working for somebody." Fury said flatly

"And? Damn those cliffhangers."

He chuckled "That somebody…we don't know. Kind of weird isn't it?"

Tony had to stop himself not to punch this bald Negro right in the face.

"Yeah, quite surprising really." He said, voice dripping with sarcasm "Seriously, I'm going to leave if you mess with me one more time. What's it got to do with Nia?"

"Your Nia has got to do with a hidden power plant somewhere deep within a forest in Brazil."

"What kind of conversation are we having?"

"A precise one. Just come with me and you'll know everything once you get to see your kidnapper's face."

"I'll kick his ass once and for all."

Fury snorted "We'll see."

As Tony look ahead, he had realized they were facing a clear, glass room — the very place where Loki was locked up.

And inside it was a bald, Afghanistan man sitting.

Anger boiled inside him. All those guns — those weapons Tony made were now stained with the blood of the innocent because of that Raza's unachievable dream — to conquer the world. Yinsen died — no, a lot of people died because of him.

But partly, it was Tony's own fault for creating a large amount of weapons. Plenty enough to be smuggled illegally and used as the key for creating massacres around the world.

"Let me in." Tony said, not taking his eyes off Raza.

Fury watched him, curious but then addressed the guard.

"Sky, permission for Mr. Stark to come in is granted."

The tall, young agent nodded and with a click of a button, the glass doors slid open.

Tony, wearing the suit and all, entered. And every step he took, made his heart beat fast not with fear but with anger and in hatred. He would gladly take this man down hand to hand, even with the suit off.

Raza, on the other hand, stood up with a big smile plastered on his face.

"Ah, still the infamous Tony Stark," he said "We meet again."

"Should I be the one doing the welcoming? You're in my territory now." Answered Tony coolly

"Ah, yes. You're acting all high and mighty now since you've risen up as another image of greatness, am I right?"

He inhaled sharply "Doesn't even ring a bell. Where's my daughter?"

As much to his anger, Raza threw back his head and laughed. Just stood there and laughed. Like an idiot.

Tony knew the fact that there were three people watching and listening to them right now. But that doesn't mean he should just keep his cool.

His patience was getting short. Faster than a time bomb.

"You think," Raza said, smiling wickedly "An innocent daughter and a life-saving suit can cover up the people you've killed? Shutting down your weapons manufacturing only proves you are guilty of your crimes."

**_CRASH!_**

Tony went wild with anger.

He had reached for Raza, breaking the glass wall in the process and held him by the scruff of his neck.

"Listen very carefully." He said slowly on the choking terrorist "My daughter is already gone. If I can't find her, that would be the end of you, I swear. Now answer me — where is she?"

"Sir, Director Fury is disagreeing to the idea of you ruining Raza's cage." Sky Strife, the agent, informed him.

Raza, who was starting to turn purple, hit Tony's metal arms uselessly. But he did not speak a word.

Tony kept on squeezing his neck.

His mind was set on Nia but his furious eyes were on Raza's.

"Stark, you are killing the informant!" Fury reminded him

His hold on Raza's neck was tightening and his fury overwhelming. All the stress, the worry and the pain was doubling up. Gushing out of him like an enormous waterfall.

Until Raza began to choke "A…mazon. At t-the Amazon…f-factory."

And he let him go.

The prisoner landed on the cold floor on all fours, coughing and wheezing. The young agent, raised his gun and pointed at Raza as Tony stormed out of the room.

"Stark, where are you going?" Fury suddenly asked, following him.

His helmet slid back on his face "Jarvis, I need you to locate a factory on the Amazon jungle at South. It must've been hidden or disguised." And he turned to him "Where should I be? My kid's in a Brazilian forest."

"And you'll go?"

"I have no time for questions Fury." Tony said and began to walk away.

"Wait."

Both men turned to see Agent Romanova behind them.

"Director, I know every part of the factory so as the kid agent." She announced, jerking her chin at the room where the said agent was tasked to guard "Might as well go on a mission."

Fury smiled wryly "Granted." And he turned to Tony "If Mr. Stark allows it."

There was a pause as Black Widow and Nick Fury waited for his answer.

"Jarvis, call Rhodes. We're going to need him as well."

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**AN:** Just as what I've mentioned back at CHAPTER EIGHT, please do review if you want me to update. But I promise, more action on the upcoming chappies!


	10. Chapter 10

**AN:** Oh goodness! Thank you all for reviewing, following and favorite-ing! I'm so inspired *O*

And uh…won't update 'till I get enough reviews! I'm really wicked, aren't I? ***wink*** This time, thanks for the reviewing peeps! **For me to update, I need another five to make it ten reviews!** Please tell me if it's all too much.

Oh yeah, should I write a sequel after this one? **Please tell me your opinions through PM-ing or in your reviews.** I check this story often and I read every comment you guys wrote. Anyways, 'can't thank you enough. Happy reading!

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Chapter TEN

_THUD!_

Urania woke up with a sudden jolt.

The van was no longer moving. There was no light coming from the window anymore. Everything was dark.

"Sophie?" she called out

"Here." Came a soft answer

Nia gave a sudden sigh of relief. At least she wasn't alone.

"The others?"

"Relax. We're all here."

Nia nodded in understanding and whipped her head towards the direction of the dimmed window.

She slowly crawled towards it and peeked.

There was a grayish light somewhere but Nia could easily distinguish the silhouetted figures of the people in a deep conversation.

She pressed an ear unto the cool metal, trying to catch at least a bit of information aside from being here in Brazil.

Voices. But it was all too stuffed. Not even enough for her to make out even a word or two.

"Did you hear something?" Cassie asked her

"Shh." She replied, putting a finger on her lips as a motion.

Nia decided to continue spying by the tiny window. Although she can't hear anything, might as well try. She learned to have patience when she ran away for two years.

She bears a lot of unanswered questions from the kidnappers and right now, Nia didn't think she can wait.

_Are they speaking some language?_ Nia thought curiously as soon as she grasped an unknown word.

Considering that as a clue, she scrounged up her brain for concentration, told the others not to breathe or even move and pressed her ear against the wall again.

"…não me lembro." A deep voice said

_What the hell does that mean?_

Nia leaned back, frowning.

Não me lembro…

Não me lembro…

Não me lembro…

The words kept filling her head although she doesn't want to think about it. It only irritated her for not knowing that.

Nia scratched her head in both irritation and in confusion.

Não me lembro…

This time, as it echoed hollowly on her ears, it sounds familiar.

Realizing what language was that, she slapped her forehead and groaned.

"Uh…I really don't want to ask this but…any of you knows how to speak Portuguese?" Nia asked at her four companions.

"No." they said altogether.

"We're doomed."

She settled on the floor, inserting the knife at her boot — in case of a sudden attack.

"Why did we stop Urania?" May breathed

"Call me Nia and to answer your question — I have no clue."

Suddenly, a loud sound of metal being dragged made Nia jump in surprise.

She was about to yell when tiny rays on light came flooding in.

Along with the men she had seen earlier.

Nia stopped her nasty attempt to tackle the men. Seeing the light inside their dark, enclosed prison brought a strange comfort to her.

She suddenly missed the warm sunshine back at Malibu, the rhythmic crash of the waves, Carbon's deep booming barks Pepper's motherly smile and even Tony's annoying cut-offs while she was talking in mid-sentence.

Remembering all this — does that mean that Nia's having a real home now?

But her daydreaming was cut-off by a harsh pull of her arm.

Oops — she forgot about the men.

There were three of them. The other two were already outside, with Sophie and the others at their hands. The last thug was now pulling her out.

Nia tried to shake this damn dude away but his rough grip on her left arm tightened, bringing along spasms of pain from her dislocated shoulder.

Nia hissed at the man but he waved it away with a small slap on her face.

Damn, he hit her bad cheek.

"You're hurting her!" piped up little Cassie

Nia almost smiled at her.

_Brave Cassie._ Nia thought

The guys said nothing as they pushed her and her companions on a big, smelly, moth-eaten sofa. Nia took the opportunity to take a quick look around.

They were in a spacious garage. With unpainted walls and hard cement that served as floors. There was only a door that served as an exit to either freedom or death now. There were no other means of escape — such as windows, for example.

They must've ridden that container van that says "FROZEN MEAT DELIVERY" since it was the only car parked inside.

Cliché. Frozen meat huh?

The man in-charge of her bent down with shackles on his other hand but before he could attach it on Nia's feet, she kicked him right in the face and pounced on him like a tiger — knocking him backwards and down into the concrete.

The other two went towards them right away. Soon enough, Nia was peeled away from her victim — with her hair being pulled at the roots by one of the men.

"NIA!" she heard Sophie yell

She cried out in pain but gave a high kick, aiming at the captor's head but Nia managed to hit his jaw squarely.

Number 2 landed on the floor, just in time for Number 3 to land a punch on her face.

There was a numbing pain as she opened her right eye. She punched back — hitting his mouth with a sickening crunch. To add things up, Nia kicked Number 3 hard on the groin.

Number 1 got up, sporting a bloody nose. He turned and charged at Nia.

She ducked, elbowed him hard on the stomach and punched his jaw upwards rather hard. He was suddenly being pummeled into the air.

_Maybe we can escape this. These guys are jerks._

But the triumphant grin did not last long.

**_ZZEEERRT!_**

That familiar, electrifying sound was back.

"Aaargh!"

Nia was thrown flying into the hard wall. She felt like as if she was hit with five Tasers.

Her back kissed the surface with a bone-crunching sound.

Nia thought she was going to pass out in pain.

She landed on the cold floor, writhing and squirming. Her breathing came in hollow pants. Everytime she tried to take another mouthful of air, it felt like a knife was twisting itself on her rib cage. Blood was oozing from her forehead.

"Idiot girl." A cool voice said

At first, she would have thought it was that SHIELD agent — Sky. They both had the same voice.

But then, as the person bent over her, she'd realized it was a man.

He had white-blonde hair and cold, piercing blue eyes. He was wearing a dark coat as well.

"You girl have some attitude problem." He informed her.

Nia stared at his cold eyes blankly. She can't move. Every part of her hurts.

The man smiled at her reaction "I like your eyes. It reflects a high level of intelligence. Not to mention you can fight — now I know the reason why Stark suddenly dragged you to Hollywood."

"G-g…" Nia started to say

He leaned in "You said something my dear?"

"Go t-to…hell."

The man stood up and chuckled to himself.

Nia gathered up her strength and tilted her face up to see what he was going to do.

He was already pacing infront of her comrades.

_Idiots, why haven't they ran away when I took the guys?_ Nia thought angrily.

Cassie and May were shaking. Axel was spacing out but Sophie bravely faced the man.

"Who are you?" she asked

"Hm? My identity doesn't matter." He turned to the men who finally snapped out of unconsciousness "Tie them up. Master needs to see them." And he tilted Nia's head up ever so slowly "Take care of this one — can't risk losing the little belle of the ball."

Nia hissed again and tried to bite his fingers off but the man chuckled and commented "Tough."

And he left without another word towards the door that she thought as an escape route at first. Nia watched him go as she struggled on the floor, feeling hopeless.

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Like trying to breathe underwater.

That's what it felt like everytime Nia tried to gasp for air.

She wanted to lose consciousness right on the spot.

Her legs felt like jelly and her ankles ached because of the metal shackles. She had to try hard to open her right eye. It was swelling like mad. There was blood on her hairline. Her cheek was stinging. Her back would soon snap in half if she won't stop walking. But she can't — not with all these masked men prodding her to go through certain directions.

Nia can't even fight back — her hands were all tied up from her back with cable ties. She can't even grab that knife from her boot, let alone perform a hand-to-hand combat with people twice her size. Besides, her body isn't responding with her thoughts anymore. Rather, it's the opposite.

"Walk faster." One of them ordered

She obeyed. Too tired to even talk. Too tired to even argue. The real Urania would lash these men with either force or words.

But right now, she was not that Nia.

Actually, she was studying everything they passed. The doors, the windows, the people. Right now, she and the others were walking by a thin metal bridge. Underneath were machines with the radiation/radioactive sign on each of them. People in white laboratory suits and gas masks were working on something.

_We are in a factory. A dangerous one._

"Does it hurt?" Sophie asked quietly, shuffling forward.

Nia shook her head once. A searing pain on her jaw came after.

Sophie's almond eyes darkened "I'm sorry about what happened earlier. I should've helped you. I'm such a wuss."

"Forget it." She replied, in a soft whisper

"No really — I'm really, really sorry."

"Hey." The thug said, eyeing them both from behind "No talking!"

They pushed Nia when she stopped to breathe.

"Can't you be more careful with her?" May insisted, glaring at the man "She's hurt!"

"Hurt or not — you're all Master's pets."

Nia's brows furrowed. They're bringing up that 'Master' thing again.  
The marching session ended when they stopped at a halt infront of a big, white door. Nothing else was around the place except the walls and a dark hallway in which they have passed.

One man pushed the door open and Nia could see the hostages.

All of them.

Nia began counting.

One, two, three…seventeen all in all.

Seventeen pairs of eyes stared at all of them.

The looks were grave, hollow and blank. Like sedated people.

From behind her, Sophie and the others gave a gasp.

_Looks like the group is complete._ She thought blankly

The men reeled her towards the left and into the front. Nia glanced behind her and saw her 'friends' were placed on the right.

"Where are you taking me?" she asked at the man

He didn't answer but looked past her — towards a door that might lead to a small room.

They entered and noticed that the thugs who were holding her back seemed to stiffen and looked at something.

Urania followed his gaze. But as soon as she spotted what caught the man's eye, her face scrunched up into absolute disgust.

There was a man sitting infront on a chair along with a desk.

He was wearing a white lab coat together with a pair of black pants. But what creeped Nia most was the mask.

Not that stupid mask that people wear at costume parties but some sort of mask that's made of silicon and sticks at his face like a real one. What's worse — the mask changes creepy faces everytime. Like some 3D face-changing creeptonator.

Right now, it showed a picture of a poet decades ago. Looking old and tired.

His hands were clasped together with his elbows propped up on a big, heavy, wooden desk. What Nia noticed was some…aura this man has. It was beyond intimidating and impressive, making Nia have the impression that this man could give a look that could kill pigeons in mid-air with the mask off.

_That is beyond creepy than Jason on Friday the 13th._

"Ah," his voice was even computerized and was now staring at Nia "I think the little group is complete."

The man's voice was so fluid, but full of metallic edges.

For some reason, anger surged up inside and fueled her body. The pain began to ebb away.

"What do you want with us?" Nia demanded, kicking and squirming out of her captor's grasp "What are you planning to do? Where the hell are we?"

"Sit — and I might answer."

He gestured towards a white plastic chair on front, facing the table. It was just like school where Nia would always be called to the principal's office.

She obeyed, shrugging off the hands that held her.

"Why do you look so angry, Urania Stark?"

Nia's attention heightened within the sound of her name "How do you know me?"

"The whole world knows, my dear — of course, with your Daddy announcing it on public." the man answered simply.

"Named after uranium, I suppose? Since your mother was a nuclear physicist. Ah, Daddy and Mommy met through the project with uranium on it eh?"

"Maybe after Urania — the Greek muse of constellations. And he isn't my _Daddy_." She hissed "He's my _father_. The way you say it sounds much creepier."

He just laughed. Sounding so insane and crazy.

"Who are you?" she asked, glaring.

The man didn't answer at first, as if pondering on her question. But as seconds tick by, she was starting to get more and more irritated and angry. Her annoyance nearly pops the meter off and good thing, it made the pain she felt more bearable.

"My name is…"

Damn those cliffhangers.

"Is?" Nia pressed

He laughed again, which was getting really ghastly by the minute "You're a very curious girl, aren't you?"

"Just answer me!"

"Patience, young one."

She gritted her teeth, resisting the urge to peel that mask off together with his skin.

"My name is Doctor Doom."

"Doc-doc what?" Nia said, frowning "You gotta be kidding me!"

"I beg your pardon?" His mask suddenly turned into the face of a mime.

She snorted "Nothing _Doctor_. I just think your name is amusing."

To her surprise, he laughed again "You might think I'm just that evil scientist in your comic books Urania Stark? You know, I'm much, much more than that."

Nia's smile disappeared instantly. As he said it, chills ran down her spine. As if an ice slid down her spinal cord. Dread began to flood her stomach, decreasing her level of confidence. Her body began to sag with the pain again.

"What exactly are you planning with all of us?"

Doctor Doom stood up "You will know later on. Guess what? You, Urania Stark, are the golden ticket."

"To what?" Nia said, trying to hide the fear in her voice.

She was starting to get it. This 'Doctor Doom' has plans to destroy her father — like every villain would.

He smiled, causing the mime to starch out its black-painted mouth "A surprise. I suppose we need to get ready. We're having a live show. And might I add? Stark — did you already have your makeup session?"

"Already did. Your creepy mask can even copy my face now." She replied through gritted teeth.

The doctor laughed again but headed towards the door. He stopped when he reached for the doorknob and turned to the man who was guarding them.

"And ah, Pierce, if ever this kid tries to escape — shoot her 'round the head." He ordered, his head nodding at her direction.

Nia swallowed. That 'Pierce' that Doctor Doom was talking to was the man who had tasered her earlier.

Pierce answered "Yes, Master."

The Doctor opened the door, wide enough for Nia to peek in before going out.

She could see the hostages — kids a little lower or higher her age, stared at them. Nia never get how could there be so many people in here. This was no ordinary kidnapping case.

Even though the room was small, Nia sat very still, trying to catch every word the Doctor was saying to the rest of the hostages, ignoring the fact that she was looked after five men — including that white-headed Pierce.

"Welcome to Brazil!" Nia heard him said to them "I suppose it's been a tiring trip isn't it?"

No one answered. They were all too scared. She could imagine them huddling on one corner, trying to get away from the big meaty men barricading the exit and the mad scientist infront of them.

"Oh yes, I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Doctor Doom. It's a pleasure to meet you all — sons and daughters of well-known scientists, am I right?"

Oh.

Nia gave herself a mental slap. Why haven't she thought of that? Tony was an engineer, a mechanic and a might-be-scientist rolled into one. That was the common thing she and the others shared.

_This Doctor Doom might want to blow the whole world up, taking us as hostages to have our parents' cooperation._ Nia thought sharply.

"You see, I have a very, smart plan in mind. And I can't do it without you all. Let's rehearse, shall we? Boys and girls, give the camera a big smile — your parents are gonna watch this."

* * *

**AN:** Help! It seems my itch to write this fanfic is slowly dissolving! I just watched Rise of the Guardians (ROTG) and had an extremely unavoidable temptation to write something about it! So, please **keep those reviews going** to help me gain motivation! And uh…I know this chap was short, I haven't had enough sleep lately so please sue me.

Mention something sad? My Shih Tzu died T_T Her name's CARBON as well. Rest in peace my poor puppy.

And yes, FYI, DOCTOR DOOM is real. In the IRONMAN COMICS, yeah, he is. Got even a t-shirt of him and beloved Ironman. But in this fanfic, I've put a little touch of my magic (YEAH). His mask and the way he talks. But still, the name and the figure is from MARVEL and STAN LEE's.


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: **Yes, I know. You wanna hit me with vegetables because this chapter took the longest. I know.

Major shout out to fanfiction-er **Don't Be Such A Sour-Wolf** **and company!** They are the ones who made me continue this chappy! I love you all to death!

Anyway, **I have changed the name of the other OC — Sky into Cross Crescent.** I have re-read my ff and found that I called him Agent Strife I mean — wtf? His last name was Crescent! I was actually creating a story and I may have mixed it in here. Darn, I'm so confused now. -_-

So remember, **Cross Crescent is the new Sky Crescent**! And I noticed the name Sky is to feminine for a guy. Ew.

Chapter ELEVEN

* * *

_Ding-Dong._

_"Miss Potts,"_ Jarvis' voice echoed throughout the empty house _"Two visitors are waiting by the door. Should I let them in?"_

Pepper paused. Tony wouldn't want her to do that. It was easy to remember as 'A,B,C' but hard to do as find x in a mathematical equation.

With Nia's disappearance and Tony's deep pockets, it was difficult to trust strangers — especially now that she was alone with a dog and a computer who may or may not fail as an only company.

"Jarvis," she finally said, standing up from the couch and towards the door "for security measures, please scan them first."

_"Will do."_

She walked towards the door, and peeked into the security camera caption, where two people were waiting patiently. A nun — for all reasons, and another woman in her mid-fifties.

"How about it Jarvis?" Pepper asked the computer "Who are they?"

_"They are representatives coming from St. Mary's Orphanage at Ohio."_

"The same orphanage that Nia was from…" she said to herself, her thoughts dimming.

_"Should I let them in, Miss Potts?"_

She blinked in confusion but then recovered, sometimes, Jarvis' intelligence can make a regular human lost track of things "Ah, yes. Send them in."

The door slid open, revealing the two guests.

"Hello." Pepper greeted, smiling slightly "How can I help you?"

"Oh, good afternoon madam. Is Mr. Tony Stark home?" the woman dressed in a jeans and a t-shirt saying 'St. Mary's Orphanage' said

"He's actually not here. He's busy…you know, with all what's happening lately…" Pepper explained

"I see. By the way — my name is Miriam Smith of St. Mary's Orphanage." She stated and took out her hand "And this is Sister Bernadette. We're from Ohio."

Pepper shook her hand "Oh, yes. And I'm Pepper Potts. Come in, come in."

As she ushered the two visitors towards the living room, deep, booming barks were heard. A second later, Carbon came into the view, all running and barking.

"Goodness!" Sister Bernadette exclaimed.

"I'm sorry! Carbon is Nia's dog and he's not, well — you know, used to visitors." Pepper exclaimed, shooing away the black dog "Oh, sit."

"Thank you."

"So what brings you here?" she asked mildly

It was the Sister's turn to speak. She clasped her hands together, her brows furrowing a little.

"We're actually here for Urania." She said.

Pepper stopped and stared.

Urania? Nia? But she's really Tony's daughter isn't she?

Her heart was beating a little faster than normal. Even thought she wasn't biologically Pepper's daughter, she had been like her own.

"Urania." Pepper repeated "Yes. Uh…is something wrong?"

"To tell you honestly Ms. Potts, Urania Stark is supposed to be on the track for legal adoption."

She nodded "Yes, the child has explained that to us when she first arrived here."

"That she was supposed to be adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Rodriguez? The papers were nearly set actually but then one day we discovered that Urania was gone along with her legal files such as birth certificates, her mother's wills and letters. Thus, we cannot process her adoption anymore." Sister Bernadette explained, looking at Pepper straight in the eye.

Pepper shifted uncomfortably. This was no easy case. Should she call Robert for this?

But the old nun went on "Mrs. Rodriguez was devastated — she really had this feeling towards Urania."

The thought made Pepper smile "Does that mean Nia's really behaved back at your place?"

"Uh, Nia's a very smart girl. But will you be surprised if I tell you she's really…um, unique?" Miriam said

"Such as?"

"Getting into trouble, not doing chores, locking herself in her room, fighting with the other kids — although, Urania's supremely clever even though she never attends school. We let her try once but the school gave us various reports on her first day so after that, we kind of not forced her to do anything she doesn't want to do right now."

"I can see that." Pepper replied, smiling tightly "But let me ask you, what brings you here?"

"Well, we actually need Mr. Stark into this discussion but then due to the cases…"

_That Nia's missing_, Pepper thought bitterly.

"Since Amanda Wainwright's will or any documents never left a proper statement of the child's rights or any custody to anyone, we have responsibilities over her as well." The old nun continued

Pepper blinked "You're saying that you're going to take her away from Tony?"

Miriam nodded "Yes. As soon as the child has been retrieved. Ms. Wainwright never stated or gave full custody on Mr. Stark. That simply explains that Urania is an orphan. And he did not comply for any adopting acts which breaks the rules of the orphanage."

There was an awkward silence for a while as the young strawberry-blonde woman stared into space.

As far as she was concerned, Tony never had broken any rules. He was clueless for goodness' sake. He never even knew he had a daughter until Urania came over and said it herself. Although Robert had alerted Pepper the consequences of Nia's actions such as being called by the orphanage, she never would have thought it would come this far. Since Amanda didn't say to whom she was going to leave Nia.

"How come you've only said this to us now? Why not the time when you heard that Nia's here?" Pepper suddenly said, her voice shaking

Somehow, Pepper felt furious. Anger was bubbling up inside of her. There were too many questions she wanted to ask but it seemed her lips wouldn't move to even utter a word. Her fist was clenched into a tight ball and she sat up straight.

For some reason, the two women can't answer. They wouldn't even meet her eyes.

"I-I'm sorry." Pepper said, rubbing her temples "It's just…I'm having a hard time now Nia's gone. Um…I'm going to give you a number — call him." As soon as she spoke, she produced a piece of paper and began to jot down Robert's number "This is Tony's lawyer, Robert Watts. He's expert on this and I'm not. I can even set you three up for a meeting. Should I?"

"That's not necessary." Sister Bernadette murmured, taking the paper "This is enough. I'm sorry for the trouble as well."

Five minutes later, Pepper watched them leave. Although she was smiling, she can't feel the happiness in it.

Should she tell Tony? No. Everything's been too complicated for him. The guy has already been worried sick and Pepper can't pile another set of problem. He may be a genius but he's still human.

_Oh Tony, please find Nia._

That was the only thing she could do.

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"So let me repeat what you just said. You want me — with that suit, to go to Brazil, save your daughter — assuming she's alive and safe and go back here like nothing's happened?" Col. James Rhodes or simply Rhodes said to Tony, eyes wide with mild disbelief

Tony nodded, satisfied "Yeah."

"And you mean now? Now _now_?"

"Now." nod. "As in right now. You know being friends with me comes with a price." nod again.

Rhodes scratched the side of his head "Allright, allright. I'll be in here just because of your daughter, okay?"

"Good enough."

They were still at the SHIELD helicarrier many hours after Tony's sudden attack at Raza. With the suit on.

In Tony's opinion, Fury and the others were taking too long. All that planning, strategizing and deciding — it was driving him nuts. Nia was abducted by unknown people and who knows what's happening to her.

_Why couldn't it be a ransom kidnapping?_ Tony thought furiously

But part of him says waiting was the right thing to do. Jarvis couldn't even locate the factory since it had blocked any system that intervenes with the security systems. Without Agent Romanova's knowledge, he couldn't find a way in.

Tony can't even think well. Maybe because he hadn't had any breakfast or is it just because he was anxious, panicked and worried at the same time?

"Sorry about what happened to your daughter though, Tony — I meant it. She seemed like a smart girl the first time I met her." Rhodes added, giving him an assuring smile

He shook his head, smiling tightly "Never thought I'll be stuck in this kind of mess. Children really do make you a parental adult."

"I warned you, didn't I?" Rhodes reminded him, shaking a finger.

They both laughed, trying to ease Tony's nerves like brothers.

But the sound of footsteps approaching the room signaled the two men of someone's presence.

"Stark — you really need to see this." Fury cut in, his voice showing no emotion.

But Tony can sense that there was something wrong. He quickly dashed towards the control room, where most of the technical work-based agents stay.

Agent Romanova (Black Widow) and Agent Crescent were standing by a large computer screen, where the words "FLASH REPORT" appeared before their eyes.

"What's hap—?" his voice trailed off. Tony's sentence was cut short by the news' headlines:

**STARK'S KIDNAPPERS SENT A VIDEO**

"Good evening everyone. Urania Stark, who was once suspected to be missing since the last two days have showed up in a video — surprisingly, along with her kidnappers. The video, which immediately came viral just after five minutes of its release to the public's eye , have explained a tough and complicated situation for Tony Stark — Urania's father. The said media seemed to have been spread throughout the world — sprouting on anyone's computers by some unknown source upon further investigation. Folks, please standby."

Then, the screen flickered for a second but then displayed a blank image — all black, nothing.

It was what they thought at first. But as seconds tick by, the darkness was engulfed in flames — one of the video effects and there suddenly appeared a man.

A man with many faces.

Tony stared at him and was pretty sure that the others around the room did too. He was wearing a starched white lab coat and maybe black pants — looking like a natural scientist. But his face…

The man in the lab coat must be wearing a mask — a mask that changes its face most of the time. It functioned like some sort of screen or monitor so other images played across it. First it looks like the face of a famous basketball player, then Einstein's, and then a mascot. Seemed pretty high tech in Tony's opinion but there's no way he's wearing that stuff. Scratch that, maybe some times when he needs to prank Pepper or the others.

"Good day to all of you — basically, to anyone who's watching this video." His voice was even disguised — almost like Jarvis' voice minus the English-slash-British accent "There's no need to introduce myself but I'm pretty sure you know…her."  
With that, he grabbed someone from the right side, hidden from the view of the camera.

"Stark…" Black Widow whispered

Tony swallowed.

Beside the man was Nia.

"Tony…" he heard Rhodes say apologetically, clamping a hand on his shoulder.

Tony ignored them. His eyes were busy scanning her daughter's features.

_Thank God she's allright._

But that relief was suddenly washed away by something else. He was suddenly feeling scared, nervous and worried. Yeah, Nia's safe but she looked horrible.

As if she'd gone on torture.

Her gray eyes looked exhausted and a little scared but her face was still emotionless. Its natural fierceness was nearly gone. Her right eye was closed and was swelling enormously. There was a cut on her left cheek. There were tiny wisps of dark hair sticking on her forehead because of the speckles of blood. Somehow, Nia was holding herself a little differently. Her shoulders weren't aligned and she was bending over a little because of the pain.

"God, she looks terrible." Rhodes muttered, his breath coming out uneven "What did they do to her?"

"Hey Urania, say hi — your Daddy's watching." The man said.

Tony's eyes wouldn't leave his daughter's face. Her eye stared at the camera lens — right at him.

She took a deep breath, glared at the man and sighed.

"This is embarrassing." Urania managed to mutter audibly

"It is kid, it is." Tony agreed quietly, a small smile tugging the corners of his lips mainly because of relief that his daughter was well enough to crack a joke.

Tony heard someone sigh so he craned his neck behind. Fury was also looking at Agent Crescent.

The young agent just shrugged and placed his eyes back on the screen.

Well, at least Tony isn't the only one who's concerned for Nia.

The computerized chuckle attracted the people's attention around the center room.

"Still a joker, this one." He said, and the masked man held Nia's arm in a piercing grip, making her wince in pain "Let's get back to business, shall we? Frankly, I am not kidnapping Urania Stark. As stated in any dictionary, kidnapping is the form of seizing and detaining by unlawful force a person and is often associated with demand for ransom in which I, do not have the slightest interest to demand anything — ah no, scratch that. I actually have a condition. To state it clearly, this kid is just a _deposit_ — along with her traveling companions as well." And to everybody's horror, the man shifted to the right to let the viewer see a whole group of kids, no lesser than fifteen. The youngest may be six or seven and the oldest are at Nia's age.

"What the hell is this man planning to do?" Fury asked, his voice obviously stained with anger.

No one answered. Their eyes were still surveying the screen as the masked man continued to speak.

"Precious aren't they? Let me share one fact: they are all the children of the best scientists around the world. So, if you're one, check if your kid's missing and is he or she is, they're probably here with me. Don't worry, we'll send you a list of names along with this video." And he gave out a hearty laugh, his mask changing into the face of John Kennedy "And oh, before I forget — it's about the condition I wanted."

And before he could even know it, Tony already had his fists clenched on his sides. It was a weird feeling with the suit on. The tips of the iron fingers were digging hard on the suit's metal palm. It was quite unusual.

Dread was flooding the pit of Stark's stomach as he stayed there, just watching the man who had gotten Nia talk relentlessly about his damn conditions. He wanted to come over there right now. Just stop listening and do something!

But he couldn't move. Part of him was still rooted on the idea of staying and analyzing the situation. It must be his genius instinct talking. It was trying to drown the fatherly worry he was feeling.

"To the mothers and fathers of these angels, I want you all to submit something for the plan I have in mind. No, it isn't participation but a set of various tools in order to complete my mission. If you do well, the process will be a lot quicker and I _might_ release your child a little faster than I have planned. Send it to the President — he knows where to deliver it."

The President, of course. Most villains would include the White House to fill another bar of fear inside a citizen. Every criminal thinks they are all high just because they can include the world's powerful man during their unwanted explanations — like this one.

"But…yes, there is a big 'but' in there. Since I have included Anthony Stark's daughter in this, I have a 'very special' treatment for him." Much to Tony's anger, his mask shifted into his very own face "I want you to meet me at this destination. Alone. We will have a very interesting chat — face to face. Tomorrow at four in the afternoon. Don't come too early or too late or else I'll put a bullet right through your daughter's head. So citizens of America, I suggest you all pray for him."

Thankfully, his mask melted into the face of a Grim Reaper — or whatever you wanna call a man in a black hooded robe with his face unseen.

"And this," his voice hang in midair but then continued "is the time where we part."

And as a thrill, the video was suddenly engulfed in flames, as if a picture that was burned.

And it was gone.

_Sir, I have received a file from an unknown source. But based on its properties, it came from that factory at the Amazon. What will you do with it? _ Jarvis' voice interrupted the storm inside Tony's mind.  
Although he wasn't wearing the helmet, he could hear his computer speaking.

For some reason, he was unable to reply. It was as if his mind was having trouble keeping up with what he just witnessed.

Anger, worry, anguish, stress — they were all mixing in. Like witch potions swirling together to form some sort of spell. But in Tony's opinion, all he needed was a spell that could rewind everything since the day his daughter arrived.

"Director, we just received an anonymous file from an unknown source." Natasha announced, interrupting the awkward tension in the room.

Rhodes and Fury immediately headed to the monitor in which the new file had just popped up but Tony was still standing, watching the news with his mind unfocused.

"…a few minutes after, there were different reactions coming from the fathers and the mothers of the children involved in Stark's kidnapping case. But the big question is: how does Tony Stark handle this as a father and a hero? Emily White for ABC's Flash Report." It said

_Sir? Your heartbeat's getting quicker. Are you somehow…anxious?_

"I am Jarvis," Tony responded, his voice a little hoarse "I am."

Somehow, Tony was feeling a bit weird. His mind was spinning yet his eyes were still focused on the environment around him. As far as he knows, he didn't drink anything weird — or did he?

He then walked towards the place where Fury and the others were huddled, inspecting something, talking and arguing. Apparently, they too, looked serious.

What did he do to receive a situation as…confusing as this?

"Am I interrupting your meeting?" he asked simply, trying to cover the uneasiness settling down on the pit of his stomach

Rhodes looked at him "Tony, come over here. This is something serious."

"I'm not surprised." And he mean it. With everything that was going on through the past few days, nothing could make him feel so shocked.

Fury watched him with his good eye — the one uncovered with the eye patch "That masked man had just sent us a file."

"Of what?"

"A blueprint of some space project. Unfortunately, SHIELD's systems can't track it. I doubt you can too." Widow answered, looking at Tony intently, as if trying to check if he could still think.

"And a map." Rhodes added, nodding.

Tony didn't say anything to any of them but instead, addressed Jarvis "Jarvis, I want you to take one of the computers on here and send the file on one of its database."

_Allright sir. Be there in a moment._

"Stark," Fury cut in, waving his hand "You know you're not supposed to take one of _my_ computers."

"At times like this, I'm afraid I have to Director." Tony replied with a knowing, half-meant smirk, emphasizing the word 'Director'.

One of the monitors glowed and suddenly, heavy metal music rang throughout SHIELD's speakers as the name 'Tony Stark is awesome' appeared in bold letters unto one of the monitors.

"You like my music?" Tony asked all of them, grinning a little as he pushed away the agent who was working by the computer.

Rhodes face-palmed himself and sighed "You are what you are man."

"Mr. Stark, you're disturbing the peace and tranquility of the HQ." Widow said passively, crossing her arms

He shook his head, smiling coyly as he typed in the password "Stop the music Jarvis. The people here can't seem to appreciate my taste."

"This isn't some rock concert hall after all." She retorted

Tony was quiet as few minutes later as he surveyed the document that was sent by Nia's kidnapper. The others stayed behind and watch him go through almost like his normal self again.

"What does your file contain?" Tony suddenly asked with plain interest as his hands run over the keyboard

"It's the blueprint of Project Orion." Fury answered

He frowned "Never heard of it."

"Project Orion is a study of a spacecraft intended to be directly propelled by a series of explosions of atomic bombs behind the craft." Natasha explained thoroughly "For short — it's a spaceship powered by nuclear pulse propulsion."

Rhodes raised an eyebrow "Nuclear? Sounds dangerous."

"It is." She agreed "It was first made by Stanislaw Ulam in

1946. The actual project was initiated in 1958 and was led by

Ted Taylor and a physicist named Freeman Dyson."

"What's so special about that stuff?" Tony muttered to himself, eyes still glued on the monitor

But Fury had heard him and he said "The Orion concept offered high thrust and high specific impulse, or propellant

efficiency at the same time. The unprecedent extreme power requirements for doing so would be met by nuclear explosions, of such power relative to the vehicle's mass as to be survived by external detonations without attempting to contain them in internal structures."

"Yes. Well, that spaceship would have offered greater performance than the most advanced nuclear rocket engines. But the supporters of the project had lost its political approval over concerns from its fallout from its propulsions." The female agent supplied

Rhodes turned to them "Basically, it's a failed proposal, right?"

"Correct." It was now Cross talking "The main unsolved problem for a launch from the surface of the Earth was a nuclear fallout. Each launch can cause a thousand people to be contaminated with fatal cancers within a hundred-mile radius. Thus, it's really dangerous. That's why NASA wouldn't agree with it."

Tony shook his head in disbelief "Nerds." He muttered again

"So what's it got to do with Tony's kid?" Rhodes asked again

"Yeah. What's it got to do with _my_ kid?" Tony agreed, throwing his friend a sideway glance

The three SHIELD correspondents were silent for a moment.

"You're so smart Stark. Figure it out." Fury ordered

"My brain circuit is having a breakdown."

"Well Mr. Stark, you know Urania's mother was a nuclear physicist back at your company right?" Natasha said finally

"Bingo." He said nonchantly, ignoring the looks he was receiving on the back of his head.

"And Urania is no ordinary kid. Even at seven, she has the sharpest memory compared to a regular student in the age of sixteen. So _what do you think is happening_?"

That was it.

Tony had stopped from whatever he was doing.

Thankfully, his brain was coming back. All the clueless bits and pieces were clicking together. Like a jigsaw puzzle being solved.

Amanda, Nia's mom, was a nuclear physicist. And Nia was a smart kid. Even at seven, she might know some sort of project her mother was going through.

And that was Project Orion.

And that masked man knew Nia has something to do with that nuclear-powered spacecraft. Because her mother might have told her some bits and pieces in it.

Banging his fist on the cubicle, Tony turned sharply and walked towards nowhere.

"Hey Tony — where are you going?" Rhodes yelled

"The guy with the mask had said it. Brought the plan. Showed the map and the only thing's missing is me — kicking his shitty face." Tony replied roughly, eyes flashing with anger.

"Do that and he will bathe your daughter in cold blood."

Fury's words had stopped Tony dead in his tracks. He turned to face him.

He was standing tall, arms crossed, eyes sharp and looking regal. Just like any top-secret Director would look.

Fury managed to speak again, his eye studying Tony's reaction "You heard what he said. Come early — she'll die. Come late — she'll die. Can you really risk your daughter for your stubbornness?"

"Director is right, Mr. Stark." Added the young agent "You never know how many people and victims are inside. We need thorough planning."

Tony stabbed a finger at Cross' direction "You kid — who are you to order me around?"

"I'm just a nobody. But I've met you and your daughter. It seems the both of you can't stand losing each other, am I right?"

Tony exhaled loudly, swallowing and avoiding the eyes his companions give him.

Well, the kid was right.

Truthfully, a part of him says he never should have met Urania. Just look at what happened. He can't even protect his own daughter. That was the part he was worrying when he's a father.

But another side of Tony says he doesn't need to be a coward. Face everything for the sake of his daughter's life and he'll be allright.

What the hell is he going to do?

This situation is different than any other.

Just because Urania came into the picture, trouble has mixed into their lives. It was chaotic. It was stressful. It was enough to drive him mad.

But with what? Worry?

"The kid's right." Tony finally said, turning around to face them all "Let's come up with the greatest plan to skin this man alive. Rhodes, you with me?"

Rhodey grinned and clapped a hand on his shoulder "Wherever you are Tony."

Even though he had to wait for a day, Tony was real certain he's going to save his daughter.

Nia is a smart girl. She's a Stark. She'll find a way to make this kidnapping case bearable both to herself and towards the other victims.

But she can't do it alone. Maybe it's time to play the role of the extrovert father.

_Just wait a little longer Nia. I'm coming for you._

* * *

**AN:** Whew! How was that? R and R. If it's such a cliffhanger — throw me some eggplants. Because I hate that vegetable. Keep those reviews coming because updates will be a lot quicker if you do!

And I nearly forgot — I have edited the chapters from behind and added a tiny bit of parts to strengthen the characters. If you wanna re-read, fine by me. But if you don't want to, it's okay. I only added a small part so you really don't miss things much. Just edited the typographical errors and the wrong spellings. Darn, my computer's all messed up. Oh yeah, **I'm looking for a beta-reader to sort my mistakes**. Anyone interested? PM me, I love having those.


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